This Queue Is Not Moving

One of the places that my impatience most frequently displays itself is in a queue that is very slow moving. If I am seeing workers moving slow or customers unprepared to do basic tasks, then my impatience grows. Fortunately, God is patient with us when we are slow to follow Him or ignore Him completely.

II Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” We don’t often think of God’s patience with us. But when we sin, that is, go our own way rather than His, He acts with calm restraint, although we are provoking His anger and straining our relationship with Him. When we turn away from God, we must come to Him quickly and repent. God wants us to avoid the suffering that sin brings.

Talking Heads

Everywhere I look, I see and hear talking heads. Sports commentators are hired to offer their opinions, right or wrong. Advertisements feature full screen actors trying to speak with authority while using wild gestures. The internet and social media are full of people espousing their opinions on a variety of subjects that they are not qualified to speak about. In social environments, the talkative person is valued above the listener. It seems society values those who use the most words, speak louder, and use more animated gestures.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 says, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” God places a high value on listening to His instructions. Waiting and listening are essential first steps before we take action, because we cannot know the right thing to do without first listening to God’s instructions.

Darkness Is As Light

When we move from a well-lighted room into a dark room, the darkness seems especially dark to us. It is difficult to see anything. After a while, our eyes become adjusted to the darkness and we can gingerly move about the room. We also have difficulty moving from a dark room into light until our eyes become adjusted. For us, darkness poses a problem. But for God, He sees just as well in the dark as He does in the light, with the darkness is physical or spiritual.

Psalm 139:11-12 says, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as day, for darkness is as light with you.” Sometimes, we may feel like our sins are too great for God to see us. Or we may feel like the sins of those around us are too dark for God to notice us amidst the darkness. But darkness is not dark at all for God, rather it is as light to Him. He sees us and loves us wherever we are and even in our darkest hours.

Shouts of Deliverance

Have you ever felt the onslaught of trouble so much that you just wanted to cover your head in a blanket and hide from everyone and all your troubles? I sure have. Most of us have. As a child, we covered our heads when we were afraid and the desire to do so never leaves us apparently. But even as a child, if someone drew alongside us and wrap their arms around us, we started to feel a little bit better, a little stronger.

Psalm 32:7 says, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah.” God doesn’t promise that troubles will never come our way. He does promise that He will preserve us through the troubles so that we will shout praises of His deliverance.

That’s Just Who I Am

Have you ever been called out by someone for something you did wrong but responded with, “Well, that’s just who I am,” or some similar brush off? We tend to make light of our mistakes by diminishing their impacts and thereby refusing to change our behavior. The truth is that we can be changed, but only through the power of God’s Spirit within us.

II Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Before we come to Jesus Christ in faith, we are slaves to our sinful desires. But Jesus has redeemed us through His shed blood, and we are set free from those sinful desires and habits.