His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”  Matthew 25:21
SCRIPTURE:  MATTHEW 24:45-47  “⁴⁵ “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.”

 

COMMENTS:  How skillful are you at waiting?  We endure waiting in checkout lines at stores, in doctor’s offices, the list goes on.   Most times we only wait 5-10 minutes but even that brief time causes impatience and unrest to show signs of getting our attention, doesn’t it? 

Teens get impatient waiting until they are 16 and can get a driver’s permit or when 18 and graduate from high school or when they can get a job and be out on their own or get married and start their own family.  Then they get impatient about a job promotion or raise.  Then they become impatient looking forward to retirement.

I have lived through all of these and experienced all of these as well as the impatience looking forward to the next milestone of life.  I have experienced the disappointment and regret when I tried to get ahead of God’s timing and choices related to those changes and have been amazed how well and how wises God’s choices have been as has the timing of receiving those changes.  Delayed promotions have all been better when God provided both timing and promotion.  A choice of career and a choice of life partner have especially been such a blessing, but undeniably a blessing because I sought and waiting for God’s choice and timing.    I have never gotten over what a blessing Arlene has been for me as my life partner – my wife.  My shy and insecure personality made it much easier for me to seek and wait for God’s opportunities and choices, but none the less waiting was vital and then responding as He confirmed and gave opportunity. 

A Christian co-worker of mine, and mutual friend to my wife, felt compelled by God to introduce us.  The initial opportunity failed because that friend lacked the courage to share her intents with me but she continued to be compelled until 2 years later she yielded and introduced Arlene and I.  The rest is history and our wedding was 2 years later.

I have made less significant choices yielding to my own impatience or impulses with inevitable result of regretting those choices.  I’ve bought a few cars that way and made some investment choices that way hoping to gain profit and enjoyment but consistently only gave regret and disappointment and loss.   God was gracious in every instance to give me an opportunity to sell off those bad choices but loss served as valuable teaching times.   But then another opportunity would present itself with the same result when yielded to temptation.  My garage is full of duplicates of tools bought at bargain prices but clutter hinders finding those tools when need them.

Well, I am doing better because God often reminds me the consequences when so tempted again to purchase something like that.

Now, maybe my weaknesses seem harmless or insignificant to you, but they have hindered my growth in faith and have robbed resources God intended for other purposes.  But in spite of all that, He has provided wisdom and resources to enable Arlene and I to live mostly debt free or at least enduring only brief periods of debt, which has enabled us to be tithers all our married lives.  Being free and able to support missionaries and God’s work.  Being able to help a neighbor or friend when in need has been a wonderful experience for us too.  Far better than any of the toys or recreational things our neighbors or friends have gone into debt to acquire and later sold due to lack of need and use to gain money for more necessary purchases.

Waiting on the Lord is a powerful act of obedience which God does honor but never comes easy.    Isaiah 40:31 “³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”   This verse has been a frequent reminder of God’s faithfulness, His commitment to provide for our needs and the wants that will be blessings for us.   But the wants that will be harmful to us, He withholds and discourages if we only wait and listen and obey.   I’m still working on doing that, how about you?

The other side of the coin is how God waits on us to obey in those times when our wants don’t match His.  When He is nudging and pushing us to do or say something that is outside our comfort zone so we put it off.  Those tasks we dread are too often the last ones we do.  But when we do them first when our attitudes and energy is strongest, how much easier and quicker then are completed and how much more we then enjoy the more enjoyable tasks left to do instead of following the opposite order of completion.

So, if we agree it is far better just to listen to and obey God’s Will first instead of later, then when are we going to just DO THAT!  Maybe we should start putting reminders and persuader stickup notes on our bathroom mirror and refrigerator door

During this time of seclusion and isolation being dictated by the coronavirus epidemic spreading across the world and impacting every community, including mine.  During this time when waiting and planning and prioritizing every excursion outside the home.  During this time when school and employment and social gatherings all are taking second priority to protecting ourselves and our family against being infected or infecting others.  During this time, taking time to “wait on the Lord” and spending time with Him is a valuable and wonderful opportunity to get better acquainted with Him.  Taking time to fellowship with Him alone but also with family is the opportunity we’ve been given.  

With today’s technology, we can still communicate with others and even work from home without exposing ourselves and our families to virus dangers.  Likewise, exposing others can also be avoided.

So, how are you managing this current health and economic crisis?   Learning to be patient and kind and considerate, I believe, are important benefits God wants us all to rediscover.  I believe, He also has so much more to teach and show us if we simply stop and wait and look and listen. 

Take some time each day to do that and record what He shows you during this time.  I’d like us to share our experiences so we can all learn and discover God’s Will going forward.  AMEN?   AMEN!

We are to be stewards as we await Christ’s return, using the gifts He has given us for His glory. Wait well as a faithful steward.

“How can there be great faith where there is little faithfulness?”  William Gurnall

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