“May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5 NLT)
Waiting, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. I may have to stop for a traffic light, but my sense is there’s no inherent blessing in waiting for that light to change; however, if I get angry, frustrated and out of sorts because of something designed to help me, it can become a tool in the devil’s capable hands to turn my heart and mind from Christ, thus becoming something very negative.
The sad truth is, every second we waste allowing the enemy of our soul to redirect our thoughts is a second we could be listening to the Lord, contemplating how to more effectively carry out what we already know to be His will, or just spending time speaking or singing to Him, and worshipping His Holy Name.
It’s like we’re giving our best selves, our best thinking, best energy, best money, best time to everything else BUT the things of God. Yes, of course, we attend our meetings regularly and may spend some time each day in reading the Bible and praying, but if we’re honest, where’s our heart? Our family, work, play? Where have we carved out quality time to invest in God’s eternal Kingdom? How are we demonstrating with the use of our time our commitment to the Lord’s Kingdom?
What is the Lord asking you to do that you keep putting off? To whom is He prompting you to reach out, to invite to church or for a cup of coffee or a snack to have some quality time with them? What makes us think there will be a better time? I love the song by King and Country a line of which says: “Why are we wasting all the time like someone’s making more?”
The reality is, this moment is the only one we have to do anything. We must be about our Father’s business and invest our time wisely doing the things that really matter. Things like growing our own life in Christ through extended time with Him in prayer, study of His Word, volunteering, or sharing with others how they can know Him. What can possibly be more important, more urgent than seeing someone yield their life and allegiance to Jesus? And the best place to begin our outreach to them is in conversation with our Savior.
We may profess that our true “home” is in heaven, but we sure pour a lot of time, money, and effort into the one we have here. Erwin McManus challenges us when he writes: “How many of us are saving our best for the next life when all we have is this life?” There will be no lost loved ones or friends in heaven unless we reach them while they’re here on earth. Once they pass from this life to the next, if they don’t know Jesus, it will be eternally too late. There are no second chances once our life is over here on earth.
Our ministry for the Lord, whatever that looks like for you, must be our top priority. And, yes, loving our family well and serving their needs is at the top of our “ministry” list. Unless we’re modeling Jesus well in our homes with our spouse and children, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks. You may think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if my wife thinks I’m a bum, I’m a bum.
Waiting is for weenies! We must be about our Father’s business NOW!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 