Jen’s Gem: Wait on God’s best.
My son recently got his driver’s license. Within days, he bought his first car. Within a week, he was driving himself to work, running errands, and going to his basketball games. He’s experiencing a new freedom as well as finally understanding why his mother gets excited over saving pennies per gallon at the gas station!
This milestone has been a long time coming. He attempted it at sixteen but was not successful. A second try had the same results. Dejected and demotivated, he gave up. He didn’t see the need since he could walk or Uber wherever he needed to go. Yet, something put a fire in him this year and he declared he’d accomplish this rite of passage.
He was laser focused on learning the in’s and out’s of driving. At 23, the local schools would only provide lessons, not allow him to take the driver’s test with them. So, he researched DMV’s across the state to see which would be the best location. He talked with his friends who’d taken the test about their experiences. He spent hours on dealership websites looking for his dream car.
I could see a marked change in his approach and mindset this time around. Instead of rushing through the process, his methodical approach was comforting to me. While still a bit nervous as all parents are when their children take the wheel, I felt much more confident in his ability to pass the test and to be a safe driver.
Of course, when other people who were braver than I practiced with him, I felt a bit better!
In looking back he questioned his delay. “What was I so afraid of?” were words he uttered repeatedly during the process. When he arrives home now, he notes how comfortable and confident he feels. Sure, he has questions on areas of town he’s not familiar with and the correct way to handle certain situations, but overall, he is doing well.
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8 NKJV)
When we want something, we often try to rush it along before we are actually ready to handle it. We want what we want when we want it, don’t we? This instant gratification approach can get us in hot water. That purchase that can’t wait transforms into unnecessary debt. That knee-jerk decision can result n a job that makes us miserable. Wise words from Mr. Tom Petty ring in my head – “The waiting is the hardest part.”
Patience is a trait that I have been working to cultivate for what seems like my whole life. As a goal-oriented person, I see a vision or goal and I want it to come to fruition right away. When one of my besties reminds me that life is about “little by little,” my flesh screams “But I want it now!” Very immature, I know.
Last night I binge watched the first season of “The Chosen.” This crowd-funded movie project depicts the life of Jesus in a way I’ve never seen. Its Biblical accuracy is spot on. Its attention to detail is amazing. It’s impossible to stop watching, which is why I am a bit bleary-eyed this morning!) I “can’t wait” to watch season two.
Many times during the show, Jesus uttered words like, “Someday you will know,” or “In time, you will see” to
his disciples. He had specific times that He would do things. God is not in a rush as much as we want Him to be. While He is clearly capable of performing miracles in nanoseconds, for the most part, He’s taking His time with each of us. Why? God cares more about our character than our comfort as one preacher said recently.
God is not a vending machine or Pez dispenser that pops out our desires at the click of a button. We’d be in trouble if He were. Not everything we ask for is good for us. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you gave a toddler a bag of candy before bed or handed over the keys to your car to an inexperienced driver?
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:23-24)
Our culture does not promote the benefits of waiting. We can get whatever we want in minutes, sometimes even delivered right to our doorstep! But good things really do come to those who wait. Waiting implies trust and when we put our trust in God, we know that if it’s something that will be good for us, it’ll be worth the wait.
PS – Don’t wait! Check out The Chosen today! Click here to start watching!