Wait for me world The many pools of your institution Are filled with piranhas You want me to jump in You want me to lose my toes You want to tell me that there is too much to ever know You do not want me to go slow. Wait for me world I do not want you to go Wait for me world Where are you off to Where is it that you push me to in such a hurry Do you hate me so much that you would leave me behind? The world waits for no one Wait for me world I do not want you to go Please stop striking me Please stop rushing me You snooze you lose I am no loser I am just tired Why have me fired I can do so much If you would just wait I could change you If you would just hesitate Stop going past so fast I love you, you know I hate you too The more you love something the more you can hate it Is that true Shove that gunk Into your stomach Into your head Do not taste it Keep running instead Run through your life You can’t keep up Too bad The world was not made for you The world calls back from far ahead You are the lucky one The others are already dead You are the lucky one Get out of your selfish head Keep on reading Get out of bed You are the lucky one Look at all those who are behind you Look at how slow I go for you But not for them I have no response Except that I feel exhausted and wasted and used I am the lucky one I say I do not really care Wait for me anyway Wait for them too Wait for everyone
What should we do when there is a gap between
our expectations and GOD’s timing? APRIL 27, 2020
The more quickly our society moves, the more we expect
immediate results. Why should we have to wait when
information is instantly available on our phones or
computers, food is only a few clicks away, movies stream
directly to our homes, &
we can purchase whatever we want now and pay later?
We love the convenience of a world geared toward our
busy schedules & desires.
However, GOD doesn’t work this way.
When we bring our needs to the LORD in prayer or read
a promise in HIS WORD, we often expect HIM to answer
right away.
And if a situation remains unchanged or
a promise unfulfilled, we become confused
& wonder why GOD isn’t doing anything.
However, the real issue isn’t whether HE is active,
but whether we’re willing to trust HIM when
HE’s not responding as we anticipate.
We’ve all experienced this—when there is a gap
between our expectation & GOD’s timing.
It may seem as if HE has left us to figure out life
on our own, but that is not the case at all.
HE never abandons HIS children and is always
working for our good—even if we can’t understand
exactly what HE’s up to.
From our perspective, it seems HE’s doing nothing,
but we misunderstand the LORD’s ultimate purpose
& fail to see all HE’s accomplishing
in the meantime.
How we respond is vitally important.
I’m sure we’ve all felt the temptation to help GOD
out by manipulating the circumstances.
This was certainly the case with Abram & Sarai in
Genesis 16. When Abram was 75, the LORD
promised to make him into a great nation
[Genesis 12:1-4].
Even though he & Sarai had been unable to have
children, GOD promised him a son & descendants
as innumerable as the stars of heaven
[Genesis 15:1-6].
However, 10 years after the promise was given,
the couple still had no child.
To make matters worse, they were getting older.
The situation looked dire, so Sarai stepped in
with a solution. Her attempt to help GOD out
sheds light on some common mistakes
we ourselves make when our confidence in
GOD’s promises begins to wane.
Sarai became impatient with GOD.
A sense of urgency grew with the passing of
the years. “So Sarai sad to Abram,
‘Now behold, the LORD has prevented me
from bearing children’” [Genesis 16:2]
She had probably expected GOD to remove
her barren condition immediately after giving
them the promise of a child, but HE didn’t.
And now it was too late for her to have a baby.
Surely, she assumed, GOD was expecting them
to do something about the situation.
Isn’t that the way we often think?
But if we seriously consider who GOD is, we’ll see
how ludicrous our assumption is.
The LORD who created time is the One who controls
& uses it to achieve HIS purposes.
Our perfectly faithful GOD formed these plans long ago,
& no one can frustrate them [Isaiah 25:1; Isaiah 14:27]
HE needed no help from Sarai, &
HE needs no help from us.
What our FATHER desires of us is
submission to HIS ways and
patient perseverance as we
wait for HIS perfect timing.
Sarai let the culture influence her thinking. As she thought about the dilemma, Sarai followed the cultural norms of her day instead of waiting for the Lord. Infertility was a shame and reproach in the ancient Middle East, and one of the ways a woman overcame this dishonor was by giving her husband a slave girl to bear his child. Once the baby was born, the wife became the legal mother, and the disgrace was removed.
Although our situations may be different, we too can be guilty of trying to achieve God’s will through worldly means. This often comes about when we let other people influence us with their opinions. However, we cannot walk in the ways of God and take our cues from what everyone else is doing—and that includes even well-meaning Christians who lack discernment and follow cultural norms. We must be careful not to let our desire for an immediate solution overpower our confidence in God’s faithfulness and His wisdom to move at the proper time.
That’s why it’s important to become
knowledgeable about the BIBLE—then
we can spot ideas contrary to GOD’s WORD.
Romans 12:2 puts it this way:
“Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, so that you may prove
what the will of GOD is, that which
is good & acceptable and perfect.”
Sarai suggested a logical, pragmatic solution.
Since she had an Egyptian maid named
Hagar, Sarai told Abram,
“Please go in to my maid;
perhaps I shall obtain children through her”
[Genesis 16:2].
It must have seemed like the most reasonable
way to approach the problem of their
childlessness.
Furthermore, it worked.
Abram did what Sarai suggested,
and Hagar conceived [Genesis16:4]
However, not everything that works is necessarily
right; success doesn’t guarantee that GOD is in it.
HE ordains not only the outcome
but also the means
by which HE achieves it.
The time for the birth of the promised son
had not yet arrived, & the mother GOD
had chosen for this baby was Sarai,
not Hagar [Genesis 18:10].
So, though Abram & Sarai jumped ahead of
the LORD & got the son they wanted, he
wasn’t the son who was promised.
Too often this is exactly what happens to us
when we try to help GOD answer our prayers
or fulfill HIS promises.
We may come up with our desired outcome,
but it’s not from the LORD. All we’ve done is
settle for less than HIS best, &
like Abram & Sarai,
we will eventually have to
deal with the consequences
of our choice.
Whenever we fill the space
between our expectations
& GOD’s perfect timing,
trouble follows.
Abram & Sarai’s technique for building their family
resulted in conflict. After Hagar conceived, she
despised her mistress.
Sarai responded by blaming her husband & treating
Hagar harshly [Genesis 16:4-6].
Eventually, more conflict arose between Hagar’s
son Ishmael & the promised son Isaac, whom
Sarah miraculously bore 14 years later
[Genesis 21:1-10].
And, sadly, this animosity
continues to the present day.
We must recognize the root problem.
Whenever we are impatient with the LORD,
we are displaying a lack of trust.
Yet such doubts are unfounded when we
consider HIS character.
The LORD is infinitely beyond us in knowledge,
wisdom, & power. HE is also sovereign over
every circumstance in our life & is never wrong
in HIS dealings for us—neither in what HE
chooses nor in how & when HE brings it to pass.
In other words, the LORD is worthy of our trust,
patience, & obedience. So let’s wait for HIM
when HE delays, knowing that HE always
keeps HIS WORD & has promised to
provide all our needs.
REFLECT
It’s easy to see the folly of Abram & Sarai’s action,
but when you’re in the midst of an urgent situation,
you may not recognize that you are doing the same
thing—getting ahead of GOD.
Have you ever become impatient with the LORD
when HE didn’t answer your prayer request as
soon as you wanted?
If a need is pressing, it’s difficult to take your eyes
off the situation & focus on what you know to be
true about GOD, but this is the only way to have
peace in the midst of trouble, pain, or hardship.
Let’s wait for GOD when HE delays,
knowing that HE always
keeps HIS WORD & has promised
to provide all our needs.
Think about a situation in the past when GOD
didn’t respond as quickly as you expected.
Did you try to help HIM out in some way?
This can be hard to determine because waiting
on GOD doesn’t always mean doing nothing.
For instance, if you are praying for a job,
GOD expects you to look for one instead of
simply sitting back & waiting for it to fall
into your lap.
In issues not addressed in SCRIPTURE,
we must trust in the HOLY SPIRIT’s guidance
as HE opens & closes doors.
However, we don’t want to move
ahead without HIM.
Another problem you might face involves relying
on guidance from sources other than GOD.
Are you more accepting of cultural expectations
or people’s advice than you are of GOD’s will as
revealed in HIS WORD?
Learning to think biblically takes time,
it’s worth every sacrifice
you may have to make.
PRAY
Heavenly FATHER, YOU alone are wise & faithful.
Make me know YOUR ways, teach me YOUR paths,
& lead me in YOUR truth. For YOU are the GOD of
my salvation, & for YOU I wait all the day [Psalm 25:4-5].
Give me the grace to trust YOU more.
I thank & praise YOU for answering prayer
and keeping YOUR promises.
In JESUS Name, Amen.
MEDITATE
Psalm 33:18-22
Psalm 62:5-8
Proverbs 16:9
Isaiah 46:9-10
Isaiah 55:8-11
PRACTICE
Although you can’t go back and correct the
consequences of not waiting upon the LORD,
you can begin today to make changes that will
protect you from making similar mistakes.
When you are tempted to become impatient
with the LORD, try reading a book of Psalms
to remind yourself who HE is.
Focus on HIS attributes, then ask yourself,
WHO is more capable of determining the
right time & manner of handling my situation
—me or GOD?
Ask the LORD to show you any ways that your
thinking, instead of being shaped by GOD’s WORD,
has begun to align more with the world’s logic.
Remember, just because it works does not
necessarily mean it’s from the LORD.
Photograph by Grant Legassick
Devotion by Charles F. Stanley
Please don't park behind people you dont know at the gas station when there's other pumps open it just leads to the person feeling rushed and confrontation.
Just a psa because of the worst experience pumping gas in my life and I work at a gas station.
I hate the idea that first dates are final, like once you go on that first date, you either have to date them or dump them. Like, go on a few dates??? Feel it out??? Get to know them in a public setting?? Idk man, I just hate how rushed dating feels
