Til the Day of His Manifestation

So the child grew and became strong in spirit,

and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:80, NKJV

Thirty years of John's life is summed up in that one verse. There are lots of things we will not know about him until we get to heaven, and then one has to wonder if it will even be stuff worth knowing. But the Bible says he grew up, developed a strong inner being and personality, and he remained out of sight until the time was right. It says he was in the deserts, but it's not talking about sand and cactus. It means he spent most of his time in solitary, uninhabited places instead of in the midst of people. And he lived that way until it was time for him to fulfill the purpose for which he came.

In short, John couldn't begin his ministry until Jesus was almost ready to begin his. From the Biblical account, it seems that there was not much passage of time between the beginning of John's ministry in those deserted places along the Jordan River and the arrival of Jesus to be baptized. We're talking months, here. Not years.

From before his conception and birth, John had a specific call on his life. Like Jeremiah, John would know that he was foreordained--predestined, if you will--to be a prophet with a purpose: to prepare the way of the Lord. John's was the role of forerunner, of announcer, of the one who was to get everyone else ready for the main event. In age, Jesus was six months behind John. Perhaps their ministries unfolded the same way.

But what I love most about this verse is that it says there was a specific day on which he was to be revealed--manifested--to Israel. I think we should take note of that. God may indeed call you into the ministry, but there are things that need to take shape in your life before you drop everything and run out to fulfill God's call. It's not the same for every person; God deals with each one differently. But there is definitely a time of training, of maturing, of growing and learning and following that needs to take place before we can do all that we are supposed to do.

Start before you're ready, and you may get puffed up with pride from your lack of maturity and cause damage that you wouldn't have--if you had just waited a little while longer. Wait too long to get started, and you may miss out on the opportunities God set up for you. We need to be aware of God's timing in all things, and follow His lead. And when God says go, that's when we go!