Remember when you would purchase a birthday card, purchase a stamp. Sign the card, put it in the envelope, seal it, put the stamp on and send it. And then you would wait for it to arrive to its destination. Today, we post an instant message on a facebook wall which they get in a moments notice.
Remember when you would have to plan a weekend to go shopping for something that wasn't available locally. You'd have to check the calendar, make sure your weekend was free and pencil out the day to go shopping for that one item. Today, we log onto Amazon or other sites, type in exactly what we want and hit the order button. Sometimes in less than 48 hours it arrives directly to your door. No travel time for you, no weekend away. Instant gratification.
My stars, even coffee has changed! It use to be we'd wake up and brew a pot, go through the shower while it processed and then pour a cup upon its completion (I'm old school.. this is me!) Now you can text in your order to Starbucks who will have your beverage ready to go at the time for which you have said you will be there. No fuss, no muss and you are off. Hot coffee made just how you like it in hand. hummmm
Jesus is so not like this.
THANK YOU JESUS!
Jesus is more like an egg boiling. Ha... they haven't figured out how to hurry that along yet - or have they?
Anyhow... Jesus. Jesus requires time. He is a process. He requires patience and trust ~ His timing is always just right!
The egg, it requires so much time to saturate the heat from the outside to the center for the process to work just right. Sometimes if you hurry the process along, or aren't patient enough ~ you have a soft runny outside, or a mushy inside which is not ready, not done. You turn the heat up too quickly and you get a cracked outside and a watery inside. It is a process of patience.
Jesus requires a similar saturation. However, Jesus begins on the inside and works through us. He begins His works on the inside, in our hearts. When we allow the process to unfold, it is an amazing thing! Jesus works in us, through our hearts. It is a process which takes patience and time.
When we have something in our hearts we are prayerful over, it isn't an instant gratification situation. We take it to the Lord and He works, in His ways. In His time to bring the prayer to full saturation. Sometimes it can be a process which unfolds far more quickly than we thought possible. Other times we wait and wonder and wait some more. God always is in process. Even when the answer is "no". There is a reason and although we may not understand it in the moment, that moment isn't a single moment but many moments being woven together.
When Jesus says NO to one thing, it may be part of the process for a bigger, better, faith shaking YES to another. It is still part of the process!
And so, we many not always understand the process ~ but we certainly need to be reminded we do understand Jesus and His desires to bless us with the most incredible Father offered blessings ever.
Today, let's find our patience. Let's think about how quickly and easily life has become. Let's be reminded, Jesus isn't about quick and easy. Jesus is about a good life. A good life and future eternity. Put your faith, trust and prayers upon Him. He's got this!