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 inbetween 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: "If you are going through a wilderness period today, know that God has not forgotten you. He is trying to accomplish something important (usually to change us), and when the timing is perfect He will deliver you...He promises. He works ALL things for the good of those that love Him (Romans 8:28). There is a time and a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). Hold on a little longer...He is faithful."
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.
I had a thought today. In our world of making sure that every child has a healthy self-esteem, we may have in fact created a generation that believes they are little gods and goddesses. Hear me out before you think I'm on a rant against young people....to tell the truth, I'm not sure I haven't fallen into the same trap!
I am a parent and have been blessed with two absolutely amazing and beautiful children...who are in fact very human. As a loving parent, however, I have at times forgotten that. It is a part of a parent's nature to want to protect their children....to help them forgo the mistakes and have a life that is better than the one the parents grew up with. Should they experience disappointment, we want to wash it away....mainly because nothing hurts quite as much as when your children hurt. We love them and would do anything for them.....just as if they were a god. Whoops....did I just admit that?
Teachers are beginning to see the result of this god complex in their classrooms more and more each day. There have always been students who felt that the rules "didn't apply to them", but now there seem to be more than before. We teach children to stand up for themselves when they feel something isn't right - that is a good thing. However, a child thinks like a child and usually when they do something - they feel that it is right. That in turn makes the rules "wrong." They feel the right to argue about everything. I am trying to help my own children overcome this god mentality I have inadvertantly saddled them with. I heard once the phrase - "Obey first and then we'll talk about it." I don't want my children to blindly obey, but I don't want them to feel that they don't have to obey either!
As an adult, I suffer from the "god-complex" as well. Like many Christians, I feel like bad things shouldn't happen to me. I want everything to be peachy keen because, after all, I am a child of the Most Hight God! Right?
I tend to skim over passages that include things like Christ followers being thrown into prison (Paul), stoned (Stephen), and even crucified upside down (the disciples). I focus on the ones that say tell me God works all things for good for those who are called according to His purpose. I tend to forget that "good" does not always mean pleasant. I mean, come on! Liver is good for me, but it is definitely not pleasant!
As a nation, a family, and a person, I need to remember that God's ways are higher than my ways. He created everything and sees yesterday, today and tomorrow at the same time. He sees the completed picture, not just today's brush stroke. He loves me and I am His.....that means I need to obey. Oh, I can ask questions...but first I must obey.
If I really do believe He is God, then I must trust Him even when I do not understand. Truth be told - I am not a goddess....not even a little one. I have been adopted through the mercy and goodness of a sacrifice. Oh yeah, remember that? The one and only TRUE son of God was abused and crucified so that we might have the right to be called a child of God. I don't know about you....but that makes me stop and think.
As a child of God, I will always be loved; but I may not always be comfortable. I will always be accepted, but I may not always be protected from pain. I will one day be in heaven where there is no suffering, but first I have to live here on earth. The fact is, life here can sometimes get tough. Through it all, I will be loved.
So that's my rant for the day. Hope your day is filled with joy and peace and happiness....but in case it's not; rest in the knowledge that you are still loved and a child of God....and that will be enough.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Remember when parents used to say "I'm doing this for your own good"? It made me look at Romans 8:28 in a new light...."And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
For a more lengthy passage about God's thoughts, check out Job 38 - 42. (Link provided here)
