A Time for Every Season - Pt 6

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:12-16 ESV).

We come to perhaps the most difficult of lessons today. I am not good at patiently waiting. The key is not in dealing with my lack of patience, but the way I respond to those occasions when patience is tested. We should not fall to the temptations of complaining (“grumbling”) about delays and inefficiencies in the hospital. Patience is a practice in trust. Let me illustrate a bit. The last day I had received all the results, met with all the doctors on the team, been given the new instructions and was cleared to be discharged. Unfortunately that process was a bit slower than I anticipated. It took four and a half hours to finally sing the discharge documents and leave the hospital. It was easy to blame this doctor or that nurse; perhaps it was some hidden administrative clerk somewhere in the vast cluster of buildings who simply hadn’t done my papers yet; or, could it have been someone else who simply hadn’t gotten “the memo.” I wanted to go home; and, that was the problem. Listen to that phrase again… “I wanted.” So often I fall to the temptation to want without direction or purpose. That is not trust. I wanted to be out of that gown, disconnected from all the wires, relieved of the IV port still dangling from my arm though not in use at that time. I wanted to be in the comfort and security of my home, sitting in my chair, and experiencing the freedom of my familiar surroundings at home. And, of course, I had stuff that needed to be done. All of these complaints assume that somehow my “needs” were both legitimate and within the plan and purpose of God. Maybe they were; however, they were not a basis for my grumbling about the perceived lack of attention I was receiving. This principle applies to so many experiences in life. It is especially applicable when we are in some unfamiliar or threatening circumstance. The Apostle Paul says, “Do all things without grumbling” (v. 14). And, he said that the effect of not murmuring would be that we shine as lights in the midst of a crooked world (v. 15). If ever a world needed light, ours certainly does. It really is a time for that today.