Hurry Up and Wait

hurry-up-and-waitRecently I was in a big hurry to get somewhere and was driving in a passing lane.  The lane was moving way too slow for my taste.  After all, I was in a rush and someone was awaiting my arrival.  The vehicle in front of me was a small U-Haul truck, and the driver was going soooooo slow.  I kept requesting aloud, “Would you please move faster or get out of my way?”    Apparently the driver did not get the message. He kept going way too slow!  After finally passing the car to our right, the truck pulled over, and I was ready to roll.  At that moment I realized there was a slow vehicle that had been in front of the truck.  That vehicle was the reason for the truck’s slow speed.  The driver saw something I did not see.  He had clearer vision.

How often in prayer, I have instructed God what to do, when to do it and how to do it!   So many times He doesn’t obey me!  Imagine that!  It’s so easy for me to pray based on my perspective, according to the lane from which I am driving at that moment in life.  Over and over when God has not moved fast enough, it is later that I discover He saw things I did not see.  He has much clearer vision of what is down the road.

Several years back, I was to be one of four speakers at a conference in Georgia.  It was a period of time when I was going to be away from home for eleven weekends in a row.   I prayed and prayed asking God for messages for Georgia, and nothing came to my heart.  As the date of the conference approached, panic arose in my spirit.  I have hundreds of messages which I have given over the years, but even those didn’t seem to have life.  Two weeks before I was to be in Georgia, I received a call that the conference was being downsized a bit.  The leader knew I had way too much on my plate at the point, so she asked if I would mind being cancelled.  Since my schedule was so hectic at that time, I did not mind at all!  All along I thought the answer to my prayer was for God to give me a message.  God always knew I wasn’t going to Georgia.  He was very aware that I needed a break in my schedule.  He had much clearer vision.

Do you find yourself in the God’s waiting room?  The idea of waiting goes against that to which we have become accustomed in our hurry-up world.  My natural inclination is to hit the gas pedal, while God might be saying, “Hit the brakes.  Slow it down.”  As a matter of fact, God will at times press the brakes Himself.  He sees things ahead that we do not see.  He knows when we need refueling and rest for what is ahead.

We will all spend time in God’s waiting room.  It is not the bad place we often envision it to be. The next time you are driving through life and you want to step on the gas, and He steps on the brakes, trust Him.  After all, it is He that knows what is ahead.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 27:14

3 thoughts on “Hurry Up and Wait

  1. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Thank you Mrs. Benton for the good encouragement.

  2. Thank you for those words of wisdom, Barbara. We need to be reminded constantly that God’s timing “is as important as the message.” (Quote from Priscilla Schirer)

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