Good Gifts

Have you ever jumped at an opportunity before checking if it is something God wants you to do? Have you seen another opportunity later that would have been better if you had waited? Have you chased so hard after something and when you’ve caught it, it doesn’t seem so great after all?

I love Jaguars. The cars and the animals. I have always wanted one of each. Having a full-sized jaguar would be quite hazardous to my health, though, so I’ll scratch that off my list. I’m hoping God will let me have one in Heaven. :) The car, on the other hand, is something I have been able to experience. We had a wonderful man

loan us his convertible Jaguar XK8 for a few days, and, oh boy, it was nice. But, if you have ever looked at the gas mileage of a Jaguar, you know it is pretty horrible. And if something breaks or needs replacing, you have to pay a bundle. We learned they are definitely more fun to borrow than to own. Things don’t always turn out the way we expected.

When we grasp at gifts in our small hands, we usually get small things that fade quickly. When we wait for God to give us what He knows is best for us with His infinitely large hands, we get BIG, and GOOD, things. This can come in many forms. When we wait for the job or spouse or other big thing God has for us, we will be blessed. If we completely rest in His care, He will provide for us. Lamentations 3:25-26 says, “God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.” (MSG)

More often than not, we just don’t have the patience to wait for His provision. We want or need a job right now. We can’t live without that person. And because we can’t wait, we don’t take the time needed to pray and listen to what God wants us to do. Sometimes that “Wait” answer from God is painfully difficult, and we just don’t want to deal with it, so we move ahead without His guidance.

On the other hand, we can be so fearful of making any decisions that we forget to keep looking for God’s direction. We have to be ready to leap when God tells us to move. One of my favorite scenes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is when Indiana has to go forward on his own with only his father’s journal to guide him. He has to trust his father’s research and figure out what his scribblings mean. He gets to the Path of God and reads, “Only in a leap from the lion’s head will he prove his worth.” That moment is so suspenseful, but Indy is driven on by his love for his father, and he takes the “leap of faith.” When we are listening to God’s voice, there may be moments when He wants us to step forward, even when we can’t see the ground in front of us.

The Pharisees in the New Testament were so stuck in their “waiting” mode that they forgot Who they were waiting for. Even though Jesus was right in front of them, they missed Him completely. Even when Scripture passages--ones they had memorized--were being fulfilled in their presence, they missed all of it! It seems a little incredible, until we do the same thing ourselves. Has God been showing you something He wants of you, something He wants you to do? Are you not seeing it because you’re looking for something else? Do you need to take that leap of faith right now or has God been telling you to wait?