Hidden from Our Eyes

Mrs Clay, my first grade teacher, had each of us save our milk cartons from lunch. We all drank our 2% milk, then washed the wax covered paper cartons in the classroom sink. With our blunt-end safety scissors, we carefully cut the tops off the cartons, filled the small white boxes with dirt, and with our fingers pushed a few hard beans deep into the dirt.

Each morning we arrived in the classroom, and with excitement found our own little planter boxes and looked to see if anything had happened over night. Nothing. Two or three days went by with “nothing” sprouting and we wondered what could be wrong.

Some of us, using our fingers or pencils, dug into the moist soil. We found, uncovered, and broke the tiny stems and roots that had begun to sprout deep beneath the surface of the soil. There, hidden from our eyes, the seeds were growing, we just couldn’t see them. For us, “nothing” continued to grow. It was a valuable lesson in patience.

God is good to strengthen our hearts and provide for us as we wait upon Him. We can be assured that He’s sprouting the seed of something great underneath the soil, hidden from our view, so we can later receive a bountiful harvest.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!  (Psalm 27:14).

He Doesn’t Need Me

My son got his Oregon driving license. He spent weeks studying Oregon’s laws about driving. Many, many hours of practice driving on the roads were spent. It took him a half-dozen tries at the law test and one appointment with the government instructor for the on-the-road driving test. But he did it! He passed the tests, and I’m so proud of him.

Someone has said that “practice makes perfect.” I don’t believe that to be true. Rather, practice makes permanent. The more he drives, the better he gets at it.

It’s interesting now to sit in the passenger seat and give the wheel over to him. It’s a huge trust exercise for me. Yes, he’s since made a few moves that have sucked all the air from my lungs, but the Lord’s been good to keep us all safe.

It’s also been a sad realization that he doesn’t need me. He can go where he wants, when he wants, and leave me behind. I am not needed any more than the one thousand and first leg on a millipede. I could vanish and no one would notice.

My youth faded long ago. The more I age, the less I am the man I once knew. Some days I look in the mirror and don’t recognize the face gazing back. The old man can’t be me. The one who led is now left behind. This is okay, as long as what I lose is made up by Jesus in me. He, the One true God, is all my hope and strength. Each day, my independence becomes greater dependence upon the One who died in my place so I could have eternal life.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail, but those who wait on 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 40:29-31).

Five Simple Steps to Everything

Over the summer, the operating system on my computer updated from Windows 8 to Windows 10. The glorious upgrade, however, left my computer unable to connect to my printer!

Several websites and videos promised “5 easy steps” to repair the problem. Each website had different ideas about the problem and different ways to fix the problem. None of the fixes were as “easy” as suggested and none of the remedies worked.

Several weeks later I received an email from the printer manufacturer. I needed to update the printer driver by clicking their link. One simple step, three minutes to wait, and the problem was solved. Frustration gone!

Part of our fallen nature seeks out simple steps to self-help. It’s true with computers, alcohol addiction, putting snow chains on your tires, or baking a cake. The simple-step process has even made its way into the church with books about 3 steps to success or 3 steps to having your prayers answered. God’s universe doesn’t work by a few simple steps; if it did, the Bible would be really, really, really short.

A man may work hard all of his life and still never have more than he needs for the day. A woman may give of all she has, and still be a poor widow. A young man may eat healthy and exercise and still die before adulthood. Time and the will of God are two elements of life that simple steps can’t include.

God isn’t a machine working at our beck and call. He is a sovereign king who works all things according to His will and His time. Rather than fawn over 5 legalistic steps to everything, we must wait upon Him and the pleasure of His good will.

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time ... (Ecclesiastes 9:11, 12).

Echoes from the Backseat

We live in a scheduled, instant-access, hurry-up world.

This past June, we took a road trip of over 5,000 miles through 11 states and Canada over 16 days. Along the way I heard the phrases common to every parent driving a car: Are we there yet? How much longer? Are you sure this is the right way? I’m tired of waiting.

As Christians, we are to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). The journey of faith seldom sees beyond the next step; yet these same phrases have always echoed from the backseat.

• Noah lived in a land where it had never rained. He was told by God to build a giant boat in which to save his family and the animal life from a world-wide flood. Can you hear Mrs Noah asking, “Honey, are you sure it was God talking and not the extra piece of pepperoni pizza right before bed?”
• Abraham was told by God to go to a land that I will show you (Gen 12:1). Can you hear his nephew riding on the back of the camel asking, “When will we get there?“
• Moses led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt on a journey that normally took 2 months. 40 years later, can you hear the cries, “Are we there yet?“
• Joshua was appointed leader of Israel after Moses died. His first act was to lead the people to a dead-end at the Jordan River. Someone must have said, “You should have asked for directions.“

If the sovereign God is leading you, remember that He works differently than you do. You may see a problem ahead or experience a looming deadline, but you’re waiting on the One in charge of the agenda. When God brings you to a roadblock or a dead-end, you wait until God makes a way through the river or turns the car around. When God speaks, He always makes His voice clear; but until He speaks, you wait. God never has a “Plan B”, that would mean He makes mistakes, so you wait for Him to work out “Plan A.”

And trying to hurry the driver only results in a speeding ticket that causes you to miss great sites like the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, and then delayed arrival at the intended destination (story here).

God is always more interested in the journey than in the final destination: He’s trying to teach you something about Himself and about yourself.

There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel – that will stand (Proverbs 19:21).

Under the Curtain

If you’ve ever been to the theater, you know that after a certain point in the play the curtains close so the stage hands can move the props and scenery around for the next act.

Most people in the audience are unaware of what is happening behind the curtains.  There are, however, seats at just the right eye-level, from which you can see that tiny space between the stage floor and the curtain. These sweet spots are very few and don’t reveal what’s happening behind the curtain, but they do give the advantage of seeing that something is happening.  There are shadows of progress that confirm movement behind the curtain.  Finally when the director knows that everyone and everything is in place, he’ll open the curtain and the play continues.

How many of us, after the curtains close, run to the stage, pull back the curtains, and demand to know what’s going on and how much longer it will take?

Now think of yourself sitting in the theater of life. You’re waiting on the Lord for something, but nothing appears to be happening.  You’re impatient and demanding that God answer your questions or move on your behalf.  But behind the curtain, God, the great Director of His universe, is at work.  There are many props to move.  The actors for the next scene need to get dressed and find their marks on the stage.  Backdrops need to be changed.

Don’t grow impatient; there is much to do.

Don’t wonder if God is acting; He is, you just can’t see behind the curtain.

Don’t demand answers; you must wait until everything is prepared for the curtain to open.

When the time is right according to His plan, you’ll see how God has orchestrated everything for His glory and your good. It’s His theater, His play, His actors, His scenery, His props.  Trust Him.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass …. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him  (Psalm 37:5, 7).