"Haste makes waste," is an old adage that is altogether true. "Hurry and speed are great illusions," says Winifred Peterson. He continues, "Contradictory as it may seem, slowing down may be the best way to speed up.... Slow down to decrease errors, to achieve accuracy, to reduce mistakes. Slow down and finish one thing and then move on to the next, rather than attempting to juggle a dozen unfinished tasks at the same time. Slow down and think the problem through before you act and you will be less likely to go off in wrong directions. Slow down and try to understand people and situations so you won't jump to impulsive conclusions. Slow down and savor the wonder of life rather than racing through it and missing the joy of living. Slow down and see the scenery instead of a blur. Slow down and wait upon the Lord. Often the best thing you can do is to do nothing until more light has revealed the way you should go."
To the modern mind, waiting is such a waste of time. We mortals reason that doing anything is better than doing nothing. We say, "Show me a man who has not made mistakes, and I'll show you a man who has not done anything," yet learning to wait is often the surest way to real accomplishment.
"Call it what you will," wrote Vance Havner, "there is waiting before God that we hurried, modern mortals do not know, that sends a man back to his task with the hand of God upon him in such a fashion that the waters of Jordan part before him."
It is our failure to learn to wait upon the Lord, to discover the will of God for our lives, that results in so many of our failures today. Scores of letters and e-mail messages come across my desk that speak of human tragedies, many of which could have so simply been avoided had we learned to wait long enough to hear the voice of God. Tragically we make the same mistakes that our fathers made and their fathers before them. A careful study of the Scriptures and history itself will reveal that many, if not, most mistakes in life are made as the result of rushing ahead of God.
Does waiting really help? Before you make a firm decision, let me share with you some promises from the world's best loved textbook on living‑‑the Bible. Isaiah 40:31 (LB) promises, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.... They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." That is the answer to the weariness and boredom of man today.
David wrote, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14). Micah, the 7th century prophet, cried, "I watch in hope for the Lord.... I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7).
A closing thought: You may think, "That is well and good to talk about waiting on God, but what is waiting on God? How does it work today?" To wait on God means that you stop trying to work out the solution yourself. Quietly bow your heart before God and say, "Father, I do not know what to do, but I want you to guide me and direct me. I am asking you to take control of my life. Show me the path to take."
Stop long enough to say that and you will be amazed at what happens. There is a wisdom that transcends the knowledge of the universe and a strength that defies weariness, and it is ours as we learn to wait upon God. As Isaiah so vividly pictured it: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31 LB). That is God's answer to the weariness of life today. By waiting, we can most surely move ahead. As one of the great musicians once wrote, "There is no music in a rest, but there's the making of it."
Resource reading: Psalm 17
A closing thought: God seldom delivers us from the battles of life, but it is much better to face them realizing that He is with us, than to be spared them, and not realize His strength on our behalf in the time of trouble. Resource reading: 2 Chronicles 20.
ROBERTSON MCQUILIKIN AND HIS LOVE
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25
When it became apparent that his wife had Alzheimer’s, Dr. Robertson McQuilkin made a decision that few men would have made. He resigned as President of Columbia International University to devote all of his time taking care of her. It wasn’t logical because men are driven by accomplishment in life. When a man suffers a serious illness, statistics are that four out of five women will stay by their husbands, but when the roles are reversed and it is the woman who is stricken with affliction, four of five men abandon her.
But not Robertson McQuilkin. In the 25 years that he was her primary caretaker, God taught him many lessons about commitment, love, and how our culture is out of harmony with the manner in which God loves and cares for us as his children.
Frankly, he’s one of the men I most admire because he not only was there for her in times of sickness and times of great stress, but he shared his heart with us in such a manner that we see Christ in his actions.
In the early years of her illness, Dr. McQuilkin tried to go to his office and fulfill his responsibility while a caregiver stayed with his wife. He reflects, “During those two years it became increasingly difficult to keep Muriel home. As soon as I left, she would take out after me. With me, she was content; without me, she was distressed, sometimes terror stricken. The walk to school is a mile round trip. She would make that trip as many as ten times a day. Sometimes at night, when I helped her undress, I found bloody feet. When I told our family doctor, he choked up. ‘Such love,’ he said simply. Then after a moment, ‘I have a theory that the characteristics developed across the years come out at times like these.’” Then Dr. McQuilkin added, “I wish I loved God like that-desperate to be near him at all times. Thus she teaches me, day by day.” When speech began to fail her, one of the last phrases that Muriel could say was, “I love you.” One of the most difficult things for this devoted husband was that as the affliction ran its course, Muriel couldn’t respond. “I would love her,” he said, “but she couldn’t love me back, and that’s a painful thing.”
He often thought, “’Lord is that the way it is between you and me? You pouring out your love and care so consciously, and what do you get back—a brief salute in the morning, we connect, grumbling when I don’t get what I want, when you don’t do it in the way I like?” How sad for him.”
It was his integrity and love for his wife that led him to give up a career—not a sense of guilt or economic necessity. In reflecting on what the life of this man taught that could never be learned in a classroom, I’m immediately drawn to the commitment of his love that was completely unrequited. So much of our love is “tit for tat.” In other words, when you love me, then I respond in kind, but when you stop returning my love, the deal’s off.
Have you ever considered what might happen should God choose to love us in the way we love each other and usually Him as well? Paul put it that God demonstrated His love for us while we were yet sinners in that Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Robertson McQuilkin lived out the reality that love is a deep commitment, a decision to care that abides unmovable, regardless of the temperature of the heart that rises and falls with our emotions and feeling.
Resource reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.
DETOURS
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17
You’ve just started your vacation! The luggage is crammed into the car, and what wouldn’t fit got lashed on top! After you turned off the main highway to reach your destination, you were confronted with a roadblock and a big yellow and black sign reading, “DETOUR!” This is the last thing in the world that you wanted! Detours are no fun, time-consuming, annoying, and they slow you down. They take you places you don’t want to go.
Hey, roads are not the only places where there are detours. The reality is that life is full of detours. They include your future plans, your health, your investments, your work, and your romances. A detour may take you far astray and slow you down. Just this morning as I prepared to open the file on my computer marked scripts, it wasn’t there. “No,” I thought to myself, “this can’t be! It has to be there. It was there last week, and it’s been in the same spot for a long, long time.” I squinted and carefully read through the list of files and then thought of what I intended to write for today’s commentary. I smiled as I thought, “You’re taking a detour right now.” Yes, I had the file backed up, but it took time to locate the folder and delayed my getting started—a minor detour, for sure.
You may remember that Moses and the sons of Abraham took a forty year detour in the wilderness. Moses wrote, “When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’” (Exodus 13:17). Actually within a few weeks after they left Egypt, they came to Arad, located at the southern tip of the Dead Sea—a jumping off spot to Canaan—and then—WHOA! A detour sign that pointed them into desert instead of a land of milk and honey.
Detours always force us to ask, “Why? How come there’s a road block and a menacing sign that says, “Detour! There are some reasons.
1. Some detours in life are there because God has a better plan—one that you can’t see at the time, one that actually you can’t even imagine. God had to get Egypt out of the hearts of His people to allow Canaan to take root. Joseph also had a long detour in his life, one that resulted in his being taken to Egypt as a prisoner, a slave with his future on hold. Paul’s life is a study of detours of one kind or another.
2. Some detours are the result of simply missing the road. The sign was there as plain as the nose on your face, but you were talking, goofing off, consumed with conversation or thought, and you just didn’t see the sign that said, “Turn here!” And when you realized it, you were confronted with a detour that was time consuming and lengthy. Much like the Prodigal you finally came to your senses and got your feet headed the right direction. The detour was the result of your failure, not God’s.
3. Some detours are there because of circumstances you have no control over. I was headed to a family reunion when a freeway sign flashed a signal, “Detour!” An accident ahead had blocked the highway. There was nothing to do but patiently take the detour.
4. Detours produce growth in our lives. They stretch us, teach us, humble us, and direct us to where we ultimately want to go. As Warren Wiersbe says, “It’s the bumps we grow on.” Include detours in that one.
Resource reading: Deuteronomy 1:1-18.
ALL OF THE ABOVE POSTS WERE BY HAROLD SALA. (REPOSTING)
You’ve just started your vacation! The luggage is crammed into the car, and what wouldn’t fit got lashed on top! After you turned off the main highway to reach your destination, you were confronted with a roadblock and a big yellow and black sign reading, “DETOUR!” This is the last thing in the world that you wanted! Detours are no fun, time-consuming, annoying, and they slow you down. They take you places you don’t want to go.
Hey, roads are not the only places where there are detours. The reality is that life is full of detours. They include your future plans, your health, your investments, your work, and your romances. A detour may take you far astray and slow you down. Just this morning as I prepared to open the file on my computer marked scripts, it wasn’t there. “No,” I thought to myself, “this can’t be! It has to be there. It was there last week, and it’s been in the same spot for a long, long time.” I squinted and carefully read through the list of files and then thought of what I intended to write for today’s commentary. I smiled as I thought, “You’re taking a detour right now.” Yes, I had the file backed up, but it took time to locate the folder and delayed my getting started—a minor detour, for sure.
You may remember that Moses and the sons of Abraham took a forty year detour in the wilderness. Moses wrote, “When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’” (Exodus 13:17). Actually within a few weeks after they left Egypt, they came to Arad, located at the southern tip of the Dead Sea—a jumping off spot to Canaan—and then—WHOA! A detour sign that pointed them into desert instead of a land of milk and honey.
Detours always force us to ask, “Why? How come there’s a road block and a menacing sign that says, “Detour! There are some reasons.
1. Some detours in life are there because God has a better plan—one that you can’t see at the time, one that actually you can’t even imagine. God had to get Egypt out of the hearts of His people to allow Canaan to take root. Joseph also had a long detour in his life, one that resulted in his being taken to Egypt as a prisoner, a slave with his future on hold. Paul’s life is a study of detours of one kind or another.
2. Some detours are the result of simply missing the road. The sign was there as plain as the nose on your face, but you were talking, goofing off, consumed with conversation or thought, and you just didn’t see the sign that said, “Turn here!” And when you realized it, you were confronted with a detour that was time consuming and lengthy. Much like the Prodigal you finally came to your senses and got your feet headed the right direction. The detour was the result of your failure, not God’s.
3. Some detours are there because of circumstances you have no control over. I was headed to a family reunion when a freeway sign flashed a signal, “Detour!” An accident ahead had blocked the highway. There was nothing to do but patiently take the detour.
4. Detours produce growth in our lives. They stretch us, teach us, humble us, and direct us to where we ultimately want to go. As Warren Wiersbe says, “It’s the bumps we grow on.” Include detours in that one.
Resource reading: Deuteronomy 1:1-18.
ALL OF THE ABOVE POSTS WERE BY HAROLD SALA. (REPOSTING)
No plan or decision is so great or meager if placed in God's hands
A perceived impossible commitment becomes real through Christ
When crossroads and detours confront us,
God's way is the sure and right way though it is less traveled
I enjoyed what was not meant for me,
I am expecting how spectacular the right one would be.
It will never be perfect,
But I do not doubt that it will be a beautiful love story.
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