Skip to main content

“Are we there, yet?”

A thought by John Ortberg (2015-05-05) from his book, Life-Changing Love: Moving God'sLove from Your Head to Your Heart (p. 111). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

A few weeks back, our middle aged granddaughter and I were heading across LA to Monterey Park to pick up Gigi, her grandma and my wife, from work.  Now the going to pick her up is probably to most difficult trip each day I take.  LA traffic at that time of the day can be a challenge and it was that day so Addison was asking me, “Papa, are we there yet?”  Now I can be an annoying Papa but also a fun Papa.  So we played the game of, “No, we’re here right now but not there, yet.”  We had a fun time back and forth, together.

Now I love the app, Waze.  It looks at the traffic and it doesn’t take you straight to where you want to go but it takes you the best possible way.  During the busy traffic times it takes you off the Freeway onto other roads.  It can really be an interesting experience but it gets you there the fastest way.  It knows the best way to go at that particular time.  I have learned through experience that I can trust it.

I like how John tells the story of the Children of Israel leaving Egypt to go to the Promised Land.  He says, “They could not have expected it would take long. Once they left Egypt, all they had to do was to cross the Sinai Peninsula. It was not a terribly long trip — less than 200 miles. They could do it in a matter of weeks. But God had an alternate route in mind.” 

He then continues, “The Bible says, ‘When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness.’ This is the God who, precisely because he loves his children, refuses to take the shortcut they would much prefer. Because of their lack of faith, their fear, he sends them on the roundabout way.”

He then says, “God does lead his people on roundabout ways. He does not move hastily. He is never in a hurry. It is one of his most irritating qualities.”  But he can be trusted because he loves us and he knows what is best for us.  But it still is easy for us to ask, “Are we there yet?”  No, we’re here but we’re not there, yet. 

John also says, “God can of course move quickly. He can answer prayer dramatically, in the twinkling of an eye, to use St. Paul’s phrase. But as a general rule he is remarkably patient. The Mennonites have a saying, ‘We are living in the time of God’s patience.’ God is delaying the end of history out of love, so that as many human beings as possible may seek him and be saved.”  He really loves us and he knows best.

So how is your journey going?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...