When God said, "Don't eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," do you think he intended to keep humans in ignorance for all eternity? In light of 1 Corinthians 13:12, I believe the correct answer is no. Eventually, had Adam and Eve not eaten the forbidden fruit I think God would have invited them to partake of everything he had. But all things must wait until their time.
For many years, Abram and Sarai were folk indistinguishable from any others alive in their day. Stirred by encounters with the living God, they morphed into people of incredible faith and became Abraham and Sarah. During the process of their growth they kept faith and held out for the promise of God for a very long time against very long odds. At some point in time, anticipation fatigue set in and they became impatient.
The result was Ishmael and blood and warfare that hasn't ended to this day, some 4100+ years later. God wasn't holding out on them, they just needed to hold on to his promise until it was time to fulfill it. God came through soon enough and Isaac became their laughter of joy and heir to future promises which reached all the way to Christ. But, their impatience left a mark thousands of years of history hasn't erased.
Saul, Israel's first king, had nothing going on before God's promise came his way. His complete lack of extraordinariness literally stood head and shoulders above the rest of Israel. Out of the blue, God raised him to a perch he never could have ascended to himself. One would think God asking him to wait for a sacrifice until the prophet, Samuel, showed up wasn't asking all that much, but Saul couldn't restrain himself against the expectation and his fear of others. How sad that turned out for not only him, but for his entire family.
Seldom does our impatience portend the same disasters that these three examples did, but it can. The one who can't wait for the Lord, ends up with an unexpected, unwanted pregnancy, or becomes the drug addict, or the gambler, or the fornicator, or the willful, or the false. What does waiting cost? Hunger, boredom, anxiety, seeming to be a loser? The easiest thing to do is bail out, cash in your chips and follow the expedited, humanly conceived path to "gettin' 'er done."
Saul, Israel's first king, had nothing going on before God's promise came his way. His complete lack of extraordinariness literally stood head and shoulders above the rest of Israel. Out of the blue, God raised him to a perch he never could have ascended to himself. One would think God asking him to wait for a sacrifice until the prophet, Samuel, showed up wasn't asking all that much, but Saul couldn't restrain himself against the expectation and his fear of others. How sad that turned out for not only him, but for his entire family.
Seldom does our impatience portend the same disasters that these three examples did, but it can. The one who can't wait for the Lord, ends up with an unexpected, unwanted pregnancy, or becomes the drug addict, or the gambler, or the fornicator, or the willful, or the false. What does waiting cost? Hunger, boredom, anxiety, seeming to be a loser? The easiest thing to do is bail out, cash in your chips and follow the expedited, humanly conceived path to "gettin' 'er done."
When those chips were the promises of God, you might not ever get the chance to get them back. There are many difficulties and obstacles on the path of faith, but the waiting may be the hardest part.
2 comments:
I absolutely agree with your thoughts. I have experienced this in my life personally. By that I also include the experience of impatience and what it has wrought. God is a mysterious fellow. Sometimes He is quick to act and other times He requires this "waiting" which from our perspective can be a long time.
One thing I would add to the experience of waiting on God is the human interpretation of inaction on the part of the waiter?!! Did that make sense? When waiting on God for an answer or direction sometimes I think we are pushed into making a decision rashly by others who do not have the same patience/faith to wait as we do. Waiting on the Lord is seen as inaction or an unwillingness to act by others. I think that this peer pressure sometimes pushes us to make a concession to the human will of others to appease them instead of waiting for God's leading. However, one lesson I have learned and continue to put into practice is to wait for that answer from God whatever it may be. Being in His Will and receiving His direction is quite honestly worth the wait!!!
Heanous,
Some great thoughts. I suppose we could say it means we ought to pick our friends more carefully, but they're not the only ones applying pressure! Maybe this is one area where there might be some possible good in the trait of stubbornness. ;-)
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