Just Wait it Out

A funny thing happened on the way home from work the other day: I got lost! Well, not so much funny as more like an out of body experience. Picture it: the interstate, Wednesday.... I was driving along when all of a sudden, the traffic came to a standstill (which in Memphis is not unusual). There is an accident, lanes are blocked. Normally, when there is an accident on the interstate, I trudge along and wait it out. Yet on this particular day, I just did not feel like it. So I got off on the upcoming exit and the plan was to avoid one major street to get to another. I had done it before so I knew it would save me some time. After driving for a while I thought to myself, "I should be there by now." Then things started looking unfamiliar. So me being the gets lost but doesn't panic/let's just see where this goes type of person that I am, kept driving. I figured eventually something would look familiar and I could get my bearings and make it home. Well thirty minutes later, I was still driving. Nothing looked familiar, I felt like I was in a different city. Hindsight, I remembered that there was a side street that I was supposed to turn on, it's name flashed across my mind. And wouldn't you know it? I ended up back where I started--the street  where I exited the interstate.

Isn't that how it is in our relationship with God? He gives us a set path to take. However, we will encounter something that may delay the journey, but the path is the correct one; and it will get us to where we're supposed to go. When we move away from where God directs us, not only do we prolong the arrival at our destination, but we have to return to our starting point. What looks like the easy way is not always the case. I knew God was teaching me something during my fantastic voyage across the city. He is telling me to stay put. He is telling me simply because the trip is taking longer than I expected, it does not mean that I won't get there. He is telling me to forget about my timeline and deadlines and anticipate my due season.

Earlier in the week while doing nothing in particular, I saw myself walking at what appeared to be the Grand Canyon. I was studying a map and not paying attention to where I was walking and soon I found myself right at the edge, dangerously close to falling over. I didn't really understand it until I was driving aimlessly around hoping something would get me back on track. 

Then it hit me: we must pay attention at the beginning, middle, and end of the journey. Getting caught up in the end result is the same as getting lost in the process. We will be tempted to get off the path to take our self made "short cuts." We will become distracted, impatient, discouraged. But the real test is how we handle it all. Don't let my physical experience become your Spiritual experience.

Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established (Proverbs 4:26 NKJV).

In other words, think about where you are going. Now allow God to make the way for you. It's the only way to arrive when and how you're supposed to.

Let's wait it out. Together. Let's run on, walk, skip, even crawl...to see what the end will be. It may take us a while, and we will encounter some problems along the way but the end result will be worth it.