Isaiah 30:15, 18
God, the Master, The Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: "Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me — the very thing you've been unwilling to do.
But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you. He's gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
When I visit my grandmother at her Assisted Living Facility during mealtime, I often have to laugh. The pervading topic of conversation at her table is how long she and her friends have to wait to be served their meal. There are probably 80 residents in this dining hall. Three or four nurse’s aides busily move from table to table, serving the meal… often a plate of hot food, and an extra dish or two with salads and dessert. This doesn’t count the aide who may circle the dining room serving coffee, iced tea, water, buttermilk… and often offering an extra dish of pudding, fruit, or maybe some sort of salad.
The point is… these residents are served a sit-down meal three times a day in a retirement center. Seldom, if ever, do these folks have a pressing appointment. While they sit and wait for the meal (perhaps as much as 30 minues), they have plenty to drink… and often the “appetizer” on which to snack. Yet it never fails… the residents in my grandmother’s area of the dining room, which is usually the last to be served, grow impatient.
I remember how frustrated Timothy used to grow when he was hungry. He would sometimes bang his high chair tray and cry while I prepared his meals… and once or twice, he tried to climb out! I would often occupy him with a snack of cheese, “goldfish” or cereal to satisfy him while he waited for the main event. The difference was… he was a baby who didn’t know any better. The residents at my grandmother’s facility should understand how this works by now!
Do you see where I am headed? Some of us are so young in our faith that maybe we have an excuse. We may not be mature enough to understand that we can rest in the LORD and let Him handle things for us. Others of us have been at this for a while… so we ought to know by now that God’s timing is perfect… He can handle what we cannot… and we need to calm down and rest in Him!
In God, we find the perfect example of patience in action. Do you think God gripes and grumbles and says to Himself, “I wish Tom would hurry up and get this! I wish Jane would figure out that I’ve got her back and quit running around like a chicken with its head cut off!”? No! God waits! He settles in and holds our treasures and blessings in store for us, so that when we finally DO calm down and turn to Him, He has plenty to share with us… grace, mercy, love, and an abundance of miracles.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to settle in, relax and give my cares to God. I often tell my grandmother that after all of the meals she has cooked and served – and cleaned up afterward – this is her reward… her time to be blessed by others. She should sit back and enjoy it! And while I’m not calling for us to become lazy in our faith… it IS time for us to get comfortable with trusting God and letting Him have control.
We need to be patient and stop wasting time trying to do God’s job for Him, so that we can enjoy the blessings and “good stuff” that comes with being His faithful servant. I know I don’t want to miss anything He has in store for me… do you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment