Quickaholic Christianity in a world of MCFaith in MCGod.

By John Stallings


The joke isn’t original with me but I’ve often said, I’d have been a Doctor but I didn’t have the patience. I don’t like to wait. I’ve left long lines because I got tired of waiting. I’ve stood by my microwave oven & patted my foot waiting for water to boil. I bought a computer & soon afterward, though it placed an information hi-way right at my fingertips, I decided it wasn’t fast enough, so we opted for high-speed.

Not only do we live in the fast lane, we want things instantaneously. Our great-grandparents used to wait a week for a train but we get upset if we miss one blade in a revolving door. Look at the T.V ads; “do you want to lose 30 pounds in 30 days?" “Would you like fabulous pecs or abs in 10 days?" Or, “visit our restaurant & if you’d not greeted with a smile in three minutes you get the meal free.”

Quick & easy, no fuss, muss & no bother, that’s what we want; instant potatoes, instant money, instant relief, quick fixes etc. We want our Doctors, lawyers & other professionals to have a magic wand. The order of the day is express marts, express credit & express isles. But one thing we don’t like is to face the fact that the speed at which we do things, in the final analysis affects the quality.

Unfortunately this impatience has invaded the church as well. Some people see God as a bubble-gum machine, -- in goes the penny & out comes the candy. Others see Him as a cosmic bellhop just waiting for us to ask for something, and then springing into action on our behalf. There are no express lanes with God. There is no “instant Christian growth.” There are no “religious shortcuts” nor “push button answers.”

Beware of religious charlatans who talk of “creating your own reality,” “exalting self to the level of the divine.” When “ministers” talk like that, they’ve marched off the spiritual map. “Ten easy steps” if it’s mentioned in the same sentence with solving spiritual problems should be just as suspect as “ten easy payments.” There may be two easy ones, the first & the last, but there are at least eight hard ones in there.

BE READY TO WAIT ON THE LORD.

One thing people forget about God is that He isn’t a time dweller. And since He doesn’t dwell in time He doesn’t see things as we do. We are like the boy watching the parade through a knot-hole in the fence. He can only see a patch here & there. But when his father pulls him up & lets him sit on the fence, he can look one way & see the end of the parade then look the other way & see the beginning.

God “sits on the circle of the earth” so He sees history as it marches by as a parade.

Noah waited for the waters to recede.
Daniel waited in a den of Lions—all night.
Sarah waited for a child in her barrenness.
Jacob waited for Rebecca’s hand 14 years.
Joseph waited in jail 13 years plus a couple of decades to reunite with his family.
The people of Israel waited in captivity 450 years then 40 years in the wilderness.
Jonah waited in a fish’s belly.
Mary waited for the baby Jesus.
Simeon waited to see the Messiah, and then he could die.
Paul wrote beautiful letters as he waited in prison, time & again.

Scripture is full of waiting.
PS.25:5—For thee I wait all the day long.
PS.130:6----My soul waits for the Lord.
Hosea 12:6—Wait continually for your God.
Romans 8:25—If we wait for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
The Bridesmaids—5 had extra oil for their lamps—5 had no plan to wait so they missed the Bridegroom.

To sum it up, waiting is one of the hardest things God sometimes puts us through. He teaches us patience; trust in Him, & perseverance through even the toughest trials. Jesus is our anchor & promises to keep us even in the strongest storms. When your trial comes, cry out to God. It may seem He’s gone to Key West & forgotten your cell-phone number but when we pray, He hears.

Psalm 34:15 declares that-- His ears are attentive to the cries of His people & His eyes are on the righteous.

Isaiah 30:19 declares--…..when He hears from heaven, the answers on the way.

Isaiah 57:15 says---…..“I live in a high & holy place but also with him who is contrite & lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly & to revive the heart of the contrite.”

When you’ve done your part, be still, be quite, trust Him, He’s never failed. Trust Him with your life like you trust Him with your soul.

John