"I'm in a hurry, but GOD isn't!"

Psalms 130:1-8                     (ESV)
"1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let YOUR ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If YOU, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with YOU there is forgiveness, that YOU may be feared.
5 I WAIT FOR THE LORD, MY SOUL WAITS, AND IN HIS WORD I HOPE;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with HIM is plentiful redemption.
8 And HE will redeem Israel from all his iniquities."



Recently my pastor delivered a message on not getting ahead of GOD!  In his message he referred to a story about a preacher in New England.  I found the story on the internet and will share it with you:

"The purposes of God often develop slowly because His grand designs are never hurried. The great New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. "What's the trouble, Mr. Brooks?" he asked.

"The trouble is that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!" Haven't we felt the same way many times?"

How many times has GOD given me a promise and set out trying to make HIS promise come about?   If it is GOD's promise, why should I be trying to MAKE it happen?  HE is the Creator of the Universe.  Why should HE be listening to why/when I think something should be happening?  Verse 7 above says within HIS plan there is PLENTIFUL REDEMPTION!

The words "I'm in a hurry, but GOD isn't" linger in my memory!  Looking back throughout my life I can see where GOD has been trying to teach me to wait on HIM for a long time.   HE had me wait 23 years before I married the perfect woman for me.   He made us wait a couple of weeks longer than doctors projected for our first son to be born.  There are too many other instances for me to list, but GOD's timing is ALWAYS perfect, regardless of how much I pace the floor!

The most effective way I have found to slow the pace of my life to a GODLY pace is to pray to HIM, read HIS Word, and fast!   Speed-reading courses generally are not taught using the Holy Bible as their text.  And my most effective prayer time is not in rush hour traffic!  Psalms 46:10, "BE STILL", has taken on a whole new meaning for me.  The Creator moves at HIS own pace, whether we agree or not.

"I'm in a hurry, but GOD isn't" was a timely message for me.  The sooner I learn that GOD is more interested in me fulfilling HIS plan than HE is with making sure my wishes and timetables are satisfied, the smoother my life will be!   The enemy will attempt to get me to  focus on the way he wants me to see things, but I need to remember that "I'm in a hurry, but GOD isn't" is the way I should operate!