I admit, I tend to move quickly most of the time. I don't really think of it as being in a hurry, I just have things to do and don't like wasting time in between. That's probably why running appeals to me - I can hurry up and get it over with and be done! It's not that I'm really a very fast runner, actually I'm pretty slow compared to "real" runners...still I try. My son once asked me why I walk so fast and yet run so slow. I guess it's because walking is usually what I'm doing in between something else.
I tend to do most everything quickly - eat, read, work, talk, even sleep! My husband, on the other hand, doesn't get in a hurry about anything. He moves slow and steady. We always manage to be at about the same "place" however because while he moves in a straight line, I'm bouncing back and forth like a pinball in a machine. My "movement" isn't necessarily moving me forward!
Today I had a random thought - God just isn't as "fast" as me. Now, granted, He managed to make everything there is in only 6 days and I can't even seem to bake a cake without ruining it. (I either keep opening the oven to see if it's done or go off and completely forget about it until someone mutters, "Is something burning?") What I mean is that He's just not in as much of a hurry as I am.
I'm thinking, "Okay God, tell me what to do and I'll get 'er done!" God seems to be content to just wait. Maybe that's one reason why He doesn't reveal too much to me. If He showed me everything I was to do, I'd either become completely overwhelmed or I'd hear half the instructions and be off like a light...making mistakes every step of the way. I have students like that. They are so quick to start their work, they forget to wait for instructions! They wind up making mistakes simply because they didn't listen!
Today we had a guest pastor at our church, Pastor Charles Simpson, and one of his main points was that we don't know how to listen! He brought up Isaiah 55:3 where it says "Hear and you shall live." Listening will save you. It's not what I say to God that makes the difference, it's what HE says to me! The key here is hearing (and that means stopping long enough to do just that) and then taking the steps He tells you to take.
See what I mean? God just isn't moving as fast as me...or at least that's how things appear to one who is bound to this earth and cannot see exactly what God is up to.
I had a friend who once taught on Moses crossing the Red Sea. He told the story in a way I'd never heard before. It seems that in the scripture the parting is described in detail in a way that I usually just skim over. (See, I told you I read quickly.) According to my friend, it tells of how the sea began to part on a certain side - and that was NOT the side they were standing on. The sea started to part and all Moses and the children of Israel could see was water. To make things even more interesting, it was probably dark. They couldn't even see the miracle until it was right in front of them and it was time to do the crossing.
Okay, I get it. It's not like I ACTUALLY thought I was faster than God...I just act that way. God is doing things in His perfect timing. He is moving in ways I cannot see and when the time is right, I get to join in. I'm just having to learn to wait on His timing. I once heard that God isn't in a hurry because He controls time. If you're feeling pushed and rushed, it's probably the enemy of your soul because he's the only one running out of time!
Since I know it's hard for some of us to just sit, I find encouragement in knowing that waiting does not mean just doing nothing. I can praise, I can worship, I can serve with whatever God has placed before me...and I can work on my listening skills.
That should be enough to keep me busy till He tells me to move. In the words of Betty Robison, "Don't get in a hurry to settle for less."
The following is copied from my friend, Courtney's, facebook page. I thought it was a perfect fit for the blog: "
2 Peter 3:9, 15 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
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