“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness . . . Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .” Psalm 37:3,7 ESV
Have you ever seen a farmer plant his beans in December? Have you ever witnessed him reaping his harvest in May? I’m fairly certain your answer would be no. You see, farmers have learned one essential truth when it comes to planting and harvesting: You can’t rush the seasons. Farmers must wait for the spring to sow the seeds. Then they wait for the seeds to soften and germinate. They wait all summer for those seeds to grow and ripen into a crop they can harvest come autumn. To rush the process would cost them the entire crop.
So why do we think we can rush God? Our tendency is to get impatient when prayers aren’t answered sooner than later. We grow frustrated when our plans appear to be ‘put on hold.’ Paul Tripp states, “Impatience is frustrated self-sovereignty, a desire for greater control over people and situations than God designed us to have.”
In order to ‘cultivate faithfulness’ we must subdue our impatient nature and train our hearts and minds to wait on the Lord. Like the wise farmer, we cannot hasten the process or we will end up with nothing. We cannot rush God. His timing is never off. Her is never too early, never too late. His best is always right on time.
Prayer: Lord, how I need reminding that your timing is always perfect. Break my frustrated self-sovereign desire till it is fully surrendered to you. Train my heart and mind to be still and wait patiently for your sovereign purpose to unfold. In your name, I pray. Amen
Thought: God has a reason for this season in your life. Don’t rush it. Embrace it.