Too Good to wait?
I’d be lying if I said that I love to wait… But sometimes it’s necessary if you want what’s good. Have you ever tasted something prematurely, like a fruit that wasn’t quite ripe enough yet? Some fruit, we are very familiar with. Sometimes we are so familiar, we have an expectation for it to be good before it really is. It is appealing to the eye because we already know it is pleasing to the palate, and it’s there to be eaten right? To us, what is good is usually the thing we already know we like. However, what we like is not always good for us and likewise, what is good for us, is not always what we like.
Timing can make a world of difference. God knows that often something that we assume could or should be good, we quickly discover is not so good because our timing is off. In the first verse of chapter three in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, in all his wisdom said….
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven”
The Uncommonly Good Fruit
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having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people.
In our society today… patience is almost considered a bad word and waiting is not our favorite option on life’s menu. As we become more and more acclimated to the ability to “click here” for instant gratification, our appetite for only what is available in the here and now is increasing by the minute. Basically, the opportunity to learn and teach how to be patient, along with the ability to recognize the benefit of suffering through waiting, is slim to none.
Patience, a.k.a. longsuffering, is not one of my all-time favorite attributes but it is one that I am grateful for. To reiterate what I have heard many say in regards to relationships; patience is key because nothing worth having comes quickly or easily. In other words, all things good should be good enough to wait for. The one who knows this best and also shows it best, is none other than God. He reminds us with our first hand account of how patient he is and always has been with us everyday.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
How long? God only knows….
The question has rolled off my tongue on more than one occasion… “How long must I wait?”
What I often get in response from those much older and wiser than me is “God only knows….” He knows what I must endure and go through. He knows how much time it will take for x, y and z to be accomplished and in the right order. He knows even how long it will be before I “get it”, meaning it has even taken quite some time for me to get to the point of coming to Him to ask the very question that only He has the answer to.
The point I am trying to make is He knows. So if you’re wondering what the next thought on love is… I will not make you suffer and longer….
Thought #4 of 101:
Love, true love and all the good fruit to come with it takes its time.
So while you wait, remember…. if you’re wondering how long you must continue to suffer… you should patiently seek the answer from the only one who knows when the ripe time will be.
My whole plate 