God Sets The Pace

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6

“It seems that most believers have difficulty facing the fact that God does not hurry in His Development of our Christian life. He is working FROM and FOR Eternity! Many Christians feel they are not making progress unless they are swiftly, constantly forging ahead; but, God Himself modifies the pace.”

"A.H. Strong illustrates this point, ‘A student asked the President of his school whether he could take a shorter course than the one prescribed. ‘Oh yes’ replied the President, ‘but then, it depends upon what you want to be. When God wants to make an oak, He takes 100 years, but when He wants to make a squash, He takes 6 months. And, remember growth is not a uniform thing in the tree or the Christian. In some single months there is more growth than in all the year besides. During the rest of the year, however, there is SOLIDIFICATION, without which the green timber would be useless.”
(Excerpts from “Green Letters” by Miles J. Stanford)

Wow, such wise words!
I clearly get the point, but patience can be an elusive fruit. I like to see progress in areas where I invest my time and focus. If I skip that molten mound of brownie with vanilla ice cream oozing down the side… then, I expect to see a smaller number shining back at me on the scale tomorrow. If I do not buy those hot leather boots with the silver buckle, and instead clean up last’s year’s model and wear those; then, there will be a higher number in my checking account at the end of this month. Results! Yes, glorious, tangible measurable results! We are result-oriented creatures and whether we like to admit it or not, we tend to have an unspoken timetable connected to most things in life.

Why does God make us wait for answers? Why can’t He just tell us what He wants us to do, right now, and clearly (and hopefully exactly as I want it all to unfold!)

Wow, such foolish words!
There was a lot of “self” in that last sentence, wasn’t there? I say I want my life to be exactly the way that God wants it to be, but sometimes Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way” drowns out the Lincoln Brewster’s “Everlasting God” and the chorus of “strength will rise as we wait upon The Lord” echoes in my head at too slow a tempo. Argh! Remind me LORD that YOU complete the work you started in me. If I rush; take shortcuts; hurry ahead of others, that only slows my Christian walk. In God’s Economy slow is fast; and I don’t want to miss any God-given opportunities because I was in a hurry….looking around me, instead of UP.

When the Apostle Paul recorded the promise that Jesus would complete His good work in us, Paul was in prison chains. But instead of asking God, “What am I doing in here when there’s a whole wide world out there to save!” What did Paul do? Do you know? Read Philippians, Chapter 1. In his confinement Paul spoke to his guards about Christ and as a result, the Holy Roman Empire was infiltrated with its first converts. Wherever he was planted, Paul planted seeds; and, because he was attuned to God’s Timing, the seeds blossomed. The Word spread with SOLIDIFICATION, in perfect step with The Holy Spirit’s vantage point of Eternity.