It's a beautiful day and the sun shines gloriously as I write, but I’m stuck at the Honda dealership for a safety recall. Stuck or not, I’m glad I'm here.
When was the last time you were glad to have to do something? I don’t think I’ve ever been 'glad' to take the car to the dealer, but I usually sit outside in the sunshine, catch up on phone calls or some reading I’ve been meaning to complete. The time is never wasted; it reminds me in the busy-ness of life to slow down.
Of course, the book I brought along to read this day has helped. It argues that in this secular age we’ve been tuned to not even recognize God’s action around us. And since we can’t recognize God’s action, we feel that our action is the only and most important action. Thus, if we are busily doing everything, we may as well not be alive—which is no way to live! The authors pointed to the beginning of the New Testament book of Acts—the disciples receive the Holy Spirit and miraculous things happen. BUT they note that action isn’t where the story began. It began with the disciples being told to wait. WAIT! Who wants to wait? Certainly not us. But if the disciples hadn’t had the patience to wait in Jerusalem, they would not have had the great Pentecost experience of the Spirit.
We humans find it hard to wait. We bring books and magazines, and oh yes, cell phones. Maybe, when waiting, you dream dreams—let your imagination run wild. Or maybe you are bored to tears. Perhaps in those times of waiting, God is attempting to speak to us. Do we dare say, as the prophet Samuel did, "speak Lord, for your servant is listening"?
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