Day 37 - Issue 23
John 14:3 NLT
'When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.'
As a young man, I found ‘waiting’ one of life’s most challenging activities. I was impetuous and ran before I could walk. Filled with optimism and self-confidence, I ran at life with its many opportunities, seldom waiting before diving in feet first. At times this left me in a precarious position, facing the consequences of my decisions with no thought on how to manage them.
So in choosing to follow Jesus, I never thought through the consequences of what that might mean. I was high on the promised upside for me, failing to consider what it meant to live a Christian life. I assumed it was about becoming a better person, with no real idea of what ‘better’ meant. My view was egocentric, all about me. God had other ideas. Following God is to step into a plan laid down before the foundation of the world where God’s purpose running through creation becomes the meaning of life. I am to be a reflection of God and caught up into this overarching revelation of love and grace throughout the earth.
My significance isn’t measured by my academic achievements, nor my role or my influence. It’s measured by the degree to which I respond to God’s invitation to wait and respond to God’s purpose throughout my life. In my early days of ministry, I rushed at opportunity and found myself on platforms long before I was sufficiently formed in Christ. Then, what I communicated was part God, but also part me. My interaction with people, my reaction and response to life, domestic and public, was framed by emotions and insecurities wrestling to control my persona. I was ‘half-baked’.
Training reveals its effect when I do by instinct what I’ve learned when my trainer isn’t with me. Jesus tells his disciples, “I’ll be away soon; do what you’ve learned, and don’t worry that I am not here to closely supervise your activities.”
QUESTION: Do you get impatient with God?
PRAYER: Lord, teach me, train me, form and shape me for your purposes.
