Ask For God’s Guidance Before Acting Out Your Desires

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(7) Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (8) Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.  (9) For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.’ (Psalm 37:7-9)

We humans often want instant gratification, especially now that we live in an expedited age.  You can go online and can buy anything in a few clicks, and often get it the same day (especially if you pay for that service).  We go through the drive-thru and the person at the window hands us hot food ASAP (and fries are better hot, right?). Are you perturbed when they have you pull into those waiting stalls – because it’ll take an extra 2 minutes to get all your order ready?

Almost every piece of info is at our fingertips. Most of the time, I don’t need my library full of Biblical research material; I simply type in DuckDuckGo (a Google alternative) the subject I am studying or preparing for. I open Blue Letter Bible and see every translation, version, and commentary pertaining to the lesson I am preparing.  (Copy & paste is a great tool for the Word-of-the-Day verse.) 

Something we lose in this expeditious world is our patience.  There are still things worth waiting for.  When we go to a fine-dining restaurant, I don’t want them to rush my food, necessarily. I would like to have it prepared properly (well done in the case of a cheeseburger, or medium-well in the case of a steak).  Some of our decisions are best when we realize it’s not always ‘yes’ or ‘no’, it is sometimes proper to answer ‘not yet’. 

About 15 years ago, I was looking for job opportunities within my now-former employer to gain a promotion and greater responsibilities.  One came up, it would be a large-scale program management job in Germany for the Department of Defense.  Now this was a great job, and career-wise would set me on an assured path through retirement, perhaps even lining up promotions up into a ‘C-suite’ level position.  It was mine – and only mine – per the hiring manager who called me to let me know; all I had to say was ‘yes’ to get the ball rolling. But there was a big hurdle standing in the way; my mother, very much alive at this time, could not (and would not) travel or move to Germany as she was in her mid-80’s, somewhat fragile in health and of course very steadfast in her ways.

I have seen others, in similar circumstances with such opportunities, get upset over their parent(s), their spouses, or their children becoming an anchor to them, and I’ve seen them ‘cut the chain’.  This sometimes ended their marriage in divorce or they became ‘geographical bachelors’, or forced their parent(s) into assisted living or just walked away from them (when the parents needed them most in their lives).  I took a different path, I prayed and asked God for His wisdom, and I got the answer, ‘not yet’.  So I turned it down, knowing I would likely not be offered another opportunity like this, and none were ever offered again.

However, in having patience, I was able to care for Mom and give her what she wanted; to live her life out in her own home without going into an assisted-living facility, living to be just shy of her 95th birthday.  I’ve been able to keep teaching my Life Group, and I’ve been given opportunities to continue working on different proposals and programs within the company for various parts of the Department of Defense and several civilian agencies.  Our roots are stronger here in Florida than before and it is likely – unless God tosses a big change in front of us He wants us to pursue – we will be here for the rest of our lives.  We are blessed beyond our dreams and expectations.  I never look back at any decision with regret as we are where we are at now with God’s knowledge we would be here. 

It would be easy to be envious and look at others to say ‘I wish that happened to me…’, but that enviousness leads to hatred which leads to evil.  Had Cain not been envious but instead turned to God for wisdom in teaching him why Abel’s animal sacrifice was accepted, perhaps Cain could have teamed with Abel to increase the sacrifice and then been blessed.  Cain should have rejoiced with Abel as his brother and not become envious and become Abel’s murderer.  Cain, Esau, and others are examples when men want God’s blessing RIGHT NOW, but without interfacing with God or wanting to wait for God’s answer. 

Don’t be Cain or Esau; wait for God to provide you the proper timing before acting out on your desires. God will answer you and His answer is always the right answer – and its always the best answer!