URGENT! Read This First!

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:1-5 ESV).

URGENT! Read This First! These were the words written in bold red letters emblazoned on the first page of the instructions of my new saw. Some months ago I bought a 12” sliding compound miter saw. I needed to mount it on a portable stand in anticipation of some of the requirements of the new house and my “shop.” The stand I chose to purchase came in an awfully small box considering the display model. There were lots of “pieces and parts” packed perfectly in the box, all of which required that I read the instructions to determine how to put it together. Being the experienced man that I am I was tempted to skip the first page with the warning. That would have been a grave mistake. Among other things, it cautioned against using any sort of mallet to force the axles through sleeves for the wheels. It seems they are made to twist on rather than slide on. Sliding them on causes the wheels to become frozen to the axles and not roll. What would be the use wheels that don’t roll on a portable stand! Rushing through the process would have been a disaster. But, waiting is always so difficult. We rush, all excited and eager, for whatever reason. Our eagerness to plunge ahead without waiting is usually a sign of trusting the wrong thing, or not trusting at all. This is at the heart of our reading today. By waiting on God, the psalmist asks God to do several things for him. He is asking to be shown, taught and led. He knows there would be disastrous consequences to rush headlong into life without waiting on the Lord. Abraham learned that lesson as well. When he was 75 years old, God told him he was to become a father. That was great news; however, the timing was to be extended. It would be twenty-four years before the promise was fulfilled. Think about being 75 years old and being told you’re about to become a parent and then waiting 24 years. God told Israel that they’d be a nation, able to leave the slavery of Egypt and be independent, but they had to wait 400 years. And then God told Moses he would lead the people to the Promised Land, but they had to go to the wilderness and wait 40 years. Then came the great promise that the Messiah would come. God’s people waited. They waited generation after generation, century after century, when God seemed silent. Then when the Messiah came, he was only recognized by a few. In fact, he was only recognized by those who were waiting for him. Are you being tempted to plunge ahead of God’s direction? Pause now and ask for God’s guidance and instruction today.