Waiting for Green!

Waiting at a particularly trying traffic signal this morning, where the red light was still displaying long after it should have turned to green, watching traffic flowing smoothly in all other directions while we had come to a grinding halt wasn't really fun. And even though I wasn't in a hurry, I could totally understand the dilemma of a gentleman on a 2-wheeler right in front of me.

From my vantage position, I observed the poor chap struggling within himself to choose between abiding by the law and acting on his own sense of justice. To every vehicle waiting on my side, it certainly felt right to simply crash the red light and keep going, since we'd been kept waiting longer than we should have been. Didn't the dumb light know we were in a hurry? Since it had failed us, weren't we right to decide on our own? Thus must have been the thoughts running through the minds of most drivers as was evident from all the impatient honking and loucursing I could hear.

And here was this gentleman, looking desperately around for drivers in the same indecisive boat as he. He gazed enviously at vehicles that boldly decided the red light was wrong and kept making false starts along with them. On the whole it was pretty funny to watch as he seemed to be jerkily moving a few inches ahead of the stop line every few seconds, still keeping an anxious eye out for that elusive green light. When it didn't seem forthcoming, he finally abandoned patience and caution to the winds and recklessly crashed the red signal. Within seconds of this, the signal turned green and the rest of us went happily on our law-abiding way!

"It's only a traffic light for God's sake," you say, "give the poor guy a break!" Fair enough. But I'm not being judgemental here. This man's little internal struggle this morning reminds me very powerfully of my own spiritual struggles everyday. Like a child throwing a tantrum for sweets in the supermarket aisle, when I want something so 'achy-achy' badly, I want God to deliver it NOW!

He of course, marching to the pace of his eternal clock, mostly never responds with an immediate "Go' signal. I know the drill by now - usually a red that (may or may not) eventually change to amber and then to green (or maybe not) at painfully slow paces. I'm talking years here, not minutes or days. In those situations, it takes every last drop of willpower to keep from crashing God's red light and giving myself the go ahead. Not difficult to believe then that many a time have I and my willpower, failed Him.

He would say "wait" and I'd make a half-hearted effort to oblige, all the time hopping from one foot to the other, simply raring to go. I'd look for non-existing signs and signals that encouraged me to stop waiting and I'd look to other people in similar situations who'd decided not to wait either. And when I've collected enough imaginary proof that I ought not to wait, I scan the empty horizon for an "ok" that I know full well will take more time to come. Maybe it's to do with my impatient mortality. But feeling completely righteous and justified, I would happily zip ahead....only to find I'm either dead wrong or that I'm way ahead of God's plans and His time.

Of late though, I've learned that waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled, is worth every minute of the wait. Like a fruit that ripens in season, His plans ripen at their own pace. Shooting ahead of God impatiently will only result in the taste of unripe, bitter sourness in your mouth instead of sweet, honeyed ripeness. If God gave you a promise, then wait for the green signal. Use it as an opportunity to exercise 'self-control' (which is by the way a Fruit of the Spirit and way more powerful than willpower).

Clench your fists and take deep breaths and let the Spirit help you wait for God to weave His beautiful tapestry in your life. Why settle for knotted embroidery threads, tangled in a hurry? This is a test of faith. If God's signal is on red or amber, then stop revving those engines. He knows you're in a hurry and He's saying, "slow down". So slow down brother!

Our Master says, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:13). What's your hurry then? Don't trust the Creator to keep His promises? Excuse me, but you do realise we're talking about the One who gave His only beloved Son to die for all mankind don't you? And you think he'd back out on one teensy promise made to you - one, teensy human? If you've received a promise, then chill friend. The Lamb will never fail you. Simply trust Him and wait for His time....with the ignition turned off of course!

Numbers 23:19 - "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"