Patience and God’s Way

“Eight more sleeps.” That’s the way that we would explain it to our boys when they were growing up. “Eight more sleeps” and Christmas will be here.  And to help them visualize it we had a calendar with a little mouse that we moved into the next pocket every morning.  They could “see” that we were getting closer.

            Of course, our youngest tried, on at least one occasion, to move the mouse an extra place or two.  I suppose he thought that he could make Christmas arrive more quickly if the mouse arrived on the 25th a few days early. We had to explain to him that it did not work that way. He had to learn to be patient, and to wait for the big day.

            There are several lessons to learn from that story. Certainly, we all need to learn patience.  Too often we are like the boy who prayed, “God, I need patience, and I need it now!”  Again, it doesn’t work that way. Often patience is learned only through hard lessons that we really don’t want to experience.

But there’s a second lesson there.  It is this. You cannot “move the goalposts” in order for the field goal to be good.  Here’s what I mean.  So many times in our world we want to change the words that God has spoken to fit our own preferences.  But God’s Word is what it has always been.  It was true when He spoke it, and it remains true today.  We are not at liberty to pick and choose, cafeteria style, what rules we will follow.

            And here’s the thing about that. The One who created us knows what is right for us. He has not given rules that are arbitrary. He is not trying to steal our fun. He wants the very best for you.  I pray that you will find satisfaction and joy in hearing and doing what God is calling you to do.  He truly has our best in mind.