Ya know… God’s timing is the right timing. PERIOD!!!

The Spirit hit me yesterday with this idea and I got all excited, started the research… and then life happened. Like the song says, “One thing leads to another…”

Next thing I know I’m at my beloved’s classroom helping her when… wow… the perfect visual for the post I was going to write a couple hours earlier drops right in my lap. Then on the way home we grab dinner from a certain fast-food place that shall remain nameless. We crack open the bags and (cue the dramatic music) they left out a significant portion of the order — the exact stuff lil’bit would eat and the stuff that was supposed to fill the rest of our bellies too. (This is gonna play right into the message…)

Now, on with the regularly scheduled devotion.

WARNING – GEEK ALERT

In my world we deal with data all the time (not the cool-looking Star Trek dude — the kind that’s just… everywhere). Data lakes. Big Data. Databases. Whatever you call it, the sheer volume can get overwhelming fast — millions of rows, thousands of columns. Yikes.

So what do we do with all that data? We create VIEWS or QUERIES. We set up filters so we can “forget” about the stuff we don’t want to see. It’s still there… we just choose not to look at it.

If we want it GONE forever, we run a DELETE. Then it’s gone. Never to be found again.

That got me thinking about the difference between our forgiveness and our Father’s forgiveness through Christ.

Thanks to Jesus, once we repent — ask for forgiveness and turn toward Him — our sins are washed away. Deleted. There’s no “view” or “query” God keeps running in the background. He won’t bring them back up.

Yesterday, on my return trip to the restaurant that shall not be named (while my family sat around the table eating and my food grew cold), this whole post was still rolling around in my head. I realized something: I will forgive the restaurant… but honestly, I’ll remember. From now on I’ll be checking my bag. There’s still residue.

And right there in the car I thanked God that when I repent, He never stops to check my bag.

Our view still shows the leftovers.

God’s view? Completely empty. Washed clean.

Just like the empty tomb.

Just a thought from a geek who finally has all his food, a full belly, and a nice slice of humble pie.

Bible Verses

2 Samuel 12:1-23 / 1 John 1

Questions

Have you ever had one of those “God’s timing” moments where the lesson shows up in the middle of everyday life???  When you forgive someone, do you still keep a quiet “query” running… or do you try to hit DELETE the way God does???