You’re in a hurry. You need to know what this story is about. Stat.
OK, OK. It’s about impatience. And, so you don’t have to wade through the whole thing, here is the last sentence of the story:
In other words, imprudence, not impatience, is the problem.
C U L8R
The above is the opening of a blog that I just LOVED! Linton Weeks is the author of the full blog post titled “Impatient Nation: I Can’t Wait For You to Read This”
And he nailed it! And he wrote it in 2010! I’m wondering if this impatience issue has speeded up.
He points out that in the past few decades we have become the Impatient Nation. We want quick answers to complex problems — the economy, diseases, personal relations.
We: Speed date. Eat fast food. Use the self-checkout lines in grocery stores. Try the “one weekend” diet. Pay extra for overnight shipping. Honk when the light turns green. Thrive or dive on quarterly earnings reports. Speak in half sentences. Start things but don’t fin…
He just put in very clever words (which make us chuckle) something we recognize all too quickly in ourselves.
And yes, my fav devotional book by Henry Blackaby goes to the root of the problem. He uses those poor Israelites who seem to never get it – oh, yeah, they are our examples from which we are to learn. I get it.
Remember how long it took them to exit Egypt and wander in the desert before they finally get to the “promised land” which God covenanted with their forefathers to provide for them? The land of milk and honey? Yep – it took them 40 years. Think about it – it is actually in walking a straight line only an 11-day journey.
Consider this – they came from being enslaved in a foreign land, a slave mindset, and they had a lot of maturing to do. In fact, the original adults didn’t even make it to the Promised Land. They all died due to various, serious acts of rebellion along the way, except for Joshua and Caleb, who were wholeheartedly sold out to the Lord. So it was the next generation who arrived at the Promised Land ready to go and receive it.
Here’s where Blackaby helps us discern an important lesson. Look at Deuteronomy 7:22:
“The Lord your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.”
If God had allowed them to annihilate their enemies at once, the land would have been too difficult to manage. So He allowed some of the enemies to remain for a time in order to maintain the land and suppress the wildlife. And we are talking years, not a “rush in and take over” action, for sure.
Look a little closer. In the scripture you will see Him saying which towns to take and which ones to leave alone – He taught His people to trust Him step by step. He gave them only as much responsibility as they could handle at one time.
Yep – I’m listening. Guess I need to go adjust my “Goals sheet”, huh?
Blackaby parallels this with our Christian growth. And he reminds me of my first mission trip to Costa Rica. One of our tasks was to build a baptistry in a small church in a small village – and hold gospel meetings in the evenings. I remember the pastor who lead us (and was a native of Costa Rica) gathering up the 10-12 new converts for a session after one of those evening services.
He told them something that struck me as odd. He said for them to not be discouraged if they start their new life as a Christian and fail in some way, slip back into an old way and have to come to the Lord again in confession. I thought “are you setting them up to expect failure? Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating?” I was the one who needed some maturing in my understanding of the process of Christian faith, growing to be like Christ.
As Blackaby pointed out, God will not take shortcuts in His process of making us like Christ. He sees our lives from an eternity perspective and will take as long as necessary to produce lasting spiritual growth in us. Just as the Costa Rican pastor shared, God will not totally change your character at once when you become a Christian. Instead, He will keep working in an area of our life until it is controlled by the Holy Spirit.
I got comfort from His assurance that even though I want maturity in every area of my character, and I want it NOW, the truth is that steady, gradual growth is more lasting.
I leave you with Blackaby’s wisdom on this powerful subject:
“Do not become impatient while God is producing Christlikeness in you. Do not seek more responsibilities than those He has given you. Obey all that you know He has asked, and He will lead you at a pace that fits your present character and His purposes for you.”
It’s victory, one step at a time, with patience and trust in Him. I’m with you on that!
