“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Convenience is what everyone desires, but it is rarely convenient to
do the right thing. If it were convenient to get saved, everyone would get saved. If it were convenient to serve the LORD, everyone would be serving the LORD. The reason people are looking for a convenient season to do what the LORD commands them to do is because the only season you will find yourself living in is an inconvenient season.
Felix heard the Gospel clearly, and when brought to the point where he should have trusted Christ, he told Paul that he wanted to wait for a “convenient season.” It wasn’t convenient at that time because it wasn’t the popular thing to do. It wasn’t convenient at that time because his position as a judge meant that the one whose case he was trying was more right than he. It wasn’t convenient at that time because he was afraid of what those who were in the courtroom would think of him. Felix waited for the convenient season and found out when he died and went to Hell that the convenient season was the lie of Satan to keep him from getting saved.
The word “convenient” means fitting in well with a person’s needs, activities, and plans. It means that it involves a time or situation where there is little effort or trouble in doing what you are supposed to do. It means to be trouble-free, opportune, or favorable with the circumstances. In other words, many people will do the wrong thing because they don’t want to be the awkward one who does the right thing.
My friend, if you are waiting for the convenient season to serve the LORD, you will be waiting until the day you die. Those who have served the LORD chose to serve Him when it was the unpopular and inconvenient thing to do. Serving God will never be agreeable with the circumstances of your life. Satan will be sure to throw many things into your life to make sure that you don’t serve the LORD.
Moreover, you will find that it is always an inconvenient time to share the Gospel, but the inconvenient time is always God’s divine appointment. One thing I have learned about leading people to Christ is that I have to be willing to be inconvenienced to talk to people about the LORD. I have to be inconvenienced and not listen to the fear of what a person will do or say if I am going to lead people to Christ. I have to be inconvenienced and put aside all of the things “I need to do” to go soul winning. If you are looking for a convenient time to be a soul winner, you will never lead one person to Christ. Every time I have led someone to Christ, it was inconvenient for me, but convenient in God’s appointment book.
Furthermore, God will never use you in a great way if you are looking for a convenient season to do something for God. It wasn’t convenient for the early church to go against the ruling religion of their day on the Day of Pentecost, but they did, and God used them. It wasn’t convenient for the three Hebrew men not to bow, but they stood and were inconvenienced, and that is what allowed God to use them. God wants to see what you are willing to give up for Him before He can use you. If God is only a convenience, He will have a very little part of your life. Those whom God used the greatest are those who were inconvenienced the most to serve Him. Are you willing to be inconvenienced for God? Being inconvenienced is the only way that God will use you.