There was a guy today who rushed and nearly paid heavily for it.
London is busy.
Crossing the roads is potentially dangerous.
I've already learned to wait for the little green man to appear on the traffic lights, because one false move and the next step we take might be onto Heavens soil. But this guy? Didn't bother. A double decker red London bus turned left into the road we were waiting to cross. But the bus driver misjudged the turn and realised he would have to back up to avoid the stationary traffic which were facing it. The little red man was showing on the lights. The old guy decided he wouldn't wait for the green man to light up, and dodged in front of the red bus. Another car in the outside lane had to brake suddenly and narrowly missed the old guy.
Impatience can be dangerous.
Waiting is safer.
I haven't been the best at waiting for things over the years.
But waiting is something God is fashioning into my life just now.
We live in a world where the now is seemingly vital. We want things now. We do not want to wait. I even pay for my coffee by swiping my phone on a NFC thingy in Starbucks, probably to save me putting my hand in my pocket and pulling out some cash! That would be far too lengthy a process. This morning I was air printing a document and it wasn't playing ball so I whipped the plug out of the wall socket and started again, all because I got tired of waiting!
We want things now.
I want things now.
Waiting is a lost art.
I have lost the art of waiting, of being patient, of not rushing.
And Gods Spirit working in my Spirit is telling me to slow down.
Waiting is an gift.
Like the old guy who nearly came a cropper today while crossing the road, rushing makes us do rash things. It's almost as if the common sense button in our lives gets stuck. We make rash decisions, we act out of context and sometimes character, and way to often we get hit.
God wants us to wait.
To rediscover the art and the gift of waiting.
For him!
There's loads of scripture that tells us that.
Psalm 27, Wait for The Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for The Lord.
Psalm 130: 5, I wait for The Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my trust.
Lamentations 3:26, It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of The Lord.
Just tap the word wait into your bible app or search engine and you will see that God wants is to wait.
And.
He wants us to learn and rediscover the patience that he considers a fruit of the spirit.
So I know this a bit of a random blog post, but I felt the need to write it anyway.
Are you impatiently raring to do something that God is actually asking you to wait on Him for? Are you running ahead of God on anything? I know with the developments here in London as we once again raise up a Sanctuary 21 from the ashes of an enemy ravaged former expression of the Salvation Army in this area that humanly we want to get it done now! But God is asking us to wait on him! Wait for him to move! Wait for him to raise up! Wait for him to mobilise a new expression here.
Waiting on God means the right paths are found, the right approaches, the right connections are made. Rushing ahead of God means we are heading for onrushing traffic and might not make it across to the other side.
Of course waiting doesn't mean just doing nothing. Nor does it mean taking our eye off the ball.
What it does mean is developing patience, solid trust and a sure hope in The Lord. It means constantly seeking him, having conversations with him, looking for him in our neighbourhoods. It means relentlessly having our hearts fuelled with the word of God. It means acting on the things he gives us in his own good time.
Waiting.
I pray we will rediscover its delights and it's purpose.
