Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. [Romans 12:12 (NLT)]
Back in his college days, my husband and several friends were on a lonely stretch of road in what seemed the middle of nowhere when they stopped for a red light. Although the average red light lasts from 90 to 120 seconds, that seemed like an eternity to the impatient driver. After looking around and seeing no other cars, he proceeded through the intersection. There was, however, one other vehicle nearby—and it was a police car! Although that driver’s impatience cost him time and money, other drivers’ impatience can take lives! A typical commuter train, for example, usually passes through an intersection in two to three minutes. But, when we lived in Illinois, at least one or two impatient drivers tried (and failed) to beat the local commuter train across the tracks every year.
Patience has been described as the quality we admire in the driver behind us but can’t stand in the driver ahead! As impatient as we are while waiting for a red light to turn green or a train to get through the crossing, I wonder at our patience when waiting for God. When we bring our concerns to Him, do we expect His answer in a New York minute (said to be the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn)? Encountering God’s version of red lights and crossing gates doesn’t mean we can’t make progress; they simply mean that it’s time to wait.
Rather than trusting God enough to wait for His timing, we frequently barge ahead only to face the consequences. Sarah’s impatience while waiting for Abraham’s promised heir led to an enduring hostility between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac. Esau was so impatient for dinner that he traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. The Israelites’ impatience when waiting for Moses to return from Mt. Sinai led to the golden calf and a plague while their impatience with the long journey around Moab resulted in an infestation of poisonous snakes. Moses’ impatience with them at Meribah Kadesh barred him from entering the Promised Land and Saul’s impatience while waiting for Samuel’s arrival caused him to lose his kingdom. The prodigal son was so impatient that he asked for his inheritance early and he ended up squandering it all. Impatience is costly in more ways than one and the consequences can be long lasting. Let us remember that it is God’s timetable we are to fulfill, not ours!
Waiting on the Lord is the opposite of running ahead of the Lord, and it’s the opposite of bailing out on the Lord. It’s staying at your appointed place while he says stay, or it’s going at his appointed pace while he says go. It’s not impetuous, and it’s not despairing. [John Piper]
Whenever I saw the swamped canoe at the swamp/bird sanctuary, I remembered the old aluminum canoe we had at our cottage. Because it remained down at the lakefront all year long, the canoe served as winter home to the chipmunks and mice. After decades of rodents taking refuge there, the critters eventually chewed up all the foam flotation blocks in both ends of the craft. Since a boat will float only as long as it weighs less than the maximum amount of water it displaces, those empty chambers didn’t affect the canoe if it remained upright and relatively dry. But, if the craft capsized, its empty chambers would rapidly fill with water and, with the extra weight, sink. Knowing how easily the canoe could sink made us extra cautious—it was used only when the water was calm, no one deliberately tipped it, and lifejackets were required.
I trust you, O Lord. I said, “You are my God.” My future is in your hands. [Psalm 31:14-15a (GW)]
When visiting our daughter’s family in New Mexico one October, stormy weather caused us to switch from the pumpkin patch/corn maze outing to an escape room attempt. With just an hour to solve a mystery and “escape,” we entered into a room filled with assorted puzzles, locks, props, and gadgets. Knowing we had to discover clues and complete a series of clever puzzles, we novices decided to divide and conquer. Each person worked on a different task speaking to their individual strengths. I worked on word puzzles while others worked on number challenges, dexterity puzzles, combination locks, or searched for hidden clues.
In the years that followed our first maze experience, we continued the pumpkin patch/corn maze tradition but at a farm with a smaller and easier maze. While there were no arrows on stakes to assist the totally confused, there was a larger and better map. Since my daughter and husband have a far better sense of direction than do I, they carried the map and led the rest of us through the maze.
Although we usually visit my daughter’s family in New Mexico in October, my broken ankle canceled our plans. The only bright spot in the cancelation is that I won’t have to participate in the dreaded family tradition of navigating through the corn maze at the pumpkin farm! I say “dreaded” because I’m so directionally challenged that I’d have trouble finding my way out of a box. Actually, after our first outing, I’m surprised any of us ever again ventured into another corn maze.
Devotions of the Heart 