Tag: impatience

Slow Down (2 Kings 2:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Not long before the Lord took Elijah up into heaven in a strong wind, Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “The Lord wants me to go to Bethel, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Bethel.

A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”

“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don’t remind me of it.”

Elijah then said, “Elisha, now the Lord wants me to go to Jericho, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life, that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Jericho.

A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”

“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don’t remind me of it.”

Elijah then said to Elisha, “Now the Lord wants me to go to the Jordan River, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will never leave you!” So the two of them walked on together.

Fifty prophets followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho, then stood at a distance and watched as the two men walked toward the river. When they got there, Elijah took off his coat, then he rolled it up and struck the water with it. At once a path opened up through the river, and the two of them walked across on dry ground.

After they had reached the other side, Elijah said, “Elisha, the Lord will soon take me away. What can I do for you before that happens?”

Elisha answered, “Please give me twice as much of your power as you give the other prophets, so I can be the one who takes your place as their leader.”

“It won’t be easy,” Elijah answered. “It can happen only if you see me as I am being taken away.”

Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. At once, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven. Elisha saw this and shouted, “Israel’s cavalry and chariots have taken my master away!” After Elijah had gone, Elisha tore his clothes in sorrow. (Contemporary English Version)

“For fast-acting relief from stress, try slowing down.”

Lily Tomlin

In placing today’s Old Testament lesson of Elijah ascending to heaven in a whirlwind next to yesterday’s New Testament lesson of Christ’s ascension, the Revised Common Lectionary wants us to consider the relationship between the two.

What goes up, must come down. Two people ascending to heaven will eventually descend back to the earth.

But why all this elapsed time? If there’s something left yet to be done, why not just do it then? Or right now?

Ah, but there’s the issue. In asking such questions, I (we) betray our modern Western mindset of being governed by the god of speed.

The archenemy of faster is to be slow. And, believe me, slow is seen as a sin by most Westerners. For example, because I have a bum back, I tend to walk slow. More than once, I’ve walked from the parking lot into a store and had cars honk at me, and even some drivers swear and flip the bird at me – just for not hurrying along and making them wait a precious few seconds.

Or take the case of the stereotypical boss who is ready to pounce on an employee who shows up a minute late for work (of which I’ve observed a hundred times over my career). I’m sure you have your own examples.

In God’s kingdom, the slow will inherit the earth – not the speedy ones. That’s because God, at least from a human perspective, is slow. Yet, that’s more of a subjective matter and an issue of perspective. Christ ascended to heaven two thousand years ago. And still no Jesus, no Second Coming. What’s “up” with that? Because many people aren’t “down” with it.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV)

Far from being a sin, slowness is actually a virtue. Spiritual maturity can only result with the element of time – lots of it. There’s no quick way to becoming whole and integrated. Bible Cliff’s Notes aren’t going to get you very far. Most things cannot be rushed – especially when it comes to our words. Running our mouths never ends well.

You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness. (James 1:19-20, NRSV)

Elijah will come. So will Jesus. In the meantime, we need to embrace being an Elisha character who learns the unforced rhythms of grace and discerns the power in slowness.

We are to take time in learning from a trusted mentor… time in sitting with difficult emotions, like sorrow, and time in allowing God to be God so that untimely shenanigans like pulling up the wheat when trying to rid the field of weeds doesn’t happen.

People have a job to do while we wait – to bear witness of the things we have seen and heard. Power is given to those who await God’s gracious gift. Pentecost is just around the corner. Be patient.

Gracious and patient God, slow me down so that I may see you in this fast paced life. Give us all a listening heart and contemplative eyes, so that we might hear your voice may see you in our active world, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Impatience and Grumbling Are Poisonous (Numbers 21:4-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses and the Serpent on the Rod

The Israelites left Mount Hor and went on the road toward the Red Sea, in order to go around the country of Edom. But the people became impatient on the way and grumbled at God and Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this desert? There is no bread and no water, and we hate this terrible food!”

So the Lord sent them poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we grumbled at you and the Lord. Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake, and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, that person will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, that person looked at the bronze snake and lived. (New Century Version)

Impatience and irritability. Grumbling and complaining. Show me a person with ants-in-their-pants and I will show you a person who bellyaches and squawks like an old chicken. The antsy person sticks their hand in the glove of criticism, loudly griping about missed expectations for all to hear. Little do they realize that venomous snakes are slithering toward them, attracted by the continual vibrations of complaint.

The ancient Israelites were miraculously delivered from Egyptian bondage by the mighty hand of God. But the celebration soon turned sour. Millions of people were out in the desert, discovering they had no food or water.

There is no account of the people using their spiritual connection with God to ask for help. Instead, their reflexive response was to grumble against God and God’s appointed leader Moses.

God had enough of their constant complaints. The Lord had repeatedly shown mercy and committed love to the people over-and-over again. Yet, they kept putting on their grumpy faces any time something didn’t go their way.

God kept showing patience toward the people, but the people kept demonstrating impatience toward God.

A mosaic of the serpent in the desert in All Saints Church, London, England, by Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820-1877)

If you stop and think about the pathology of our own impatience and complaining (which we all do – come on, admit it) you’ll likely discover that at the heart of it all is a picture in your mind of how you think circumstances ought to go for you to be happy. 

The Israelites expected a nice clean break from Egypt with a smooth transition into the Promised Land. They didn’t sign up for hard circumstances and a bunch of adversity and trouble getting there.

We aren’t so different. Believers go to faith gatherings expecting to be fed and encouraged. Students expect that school will be enjoyable and that they’ll get a good paying job after graduation. Employees expect to go to work and have healthy working relationships and a good boss. Parents expect their kids to listen and obey. You expect your friend or spouse to give you focused attention, the weather to be better, the drivers on the road to be respectful, the little plastic things on the end of your shoelaces to last for the life of your shoes….

And it doesn’t happen, or at least fails to go as planned. So, what happens when all those expectations aren’t realized? 

In a perfect world, we would always respond in a reasoned, wise, and healthy manner. But if we’re feeling like we’re in an emotional place of insecurity out in the desert, our response is more likely to be an impatient and complaint-filled litany about how things are all screwed up.

A great deal of disobedience, bad behavior, angry speech, and poor decision-making has its origins in impatience.

The minute you become impatient, take a long deep breath before you make your next mental decision. Check-in with yourself. Be mindful of what your real expectations are for the circumstance or person in the present moment of becoming upset. Make the decision, from the very beginning, not to complain or argue. Instead, choose to say what you want without grumbling.

It is truly possible to stand for holiness, live for righteousness, and uphold the words and ways of Jesus without being a jerk about it through impatient sighs, annoying facial expressions, and terse words of carping at another person who is made in God’s image.

Monitor yourself throughout the day today. Notice the times you become annoyed. Stop and take a minute to analyze what you are expecting to unfold throughout the day. Instead of grumbling, ask God to strengthen your faith through your upcoming events and encounters. 

God is there to help you, and not to pick on you. If you find yourself having made a poor decision and are suffering the consequences of it, the way of dealing with it isn’t to avoid it. One of the reasons God instructed Moses to make a snake is to clearly demonstrate to the people that they must go through their problems and not try and get around them.

Fortunately, in Christianity, Jesus becomes our bronze snake of deliverance:

In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. (John 3:14-15, MSG)

Holy God, your patience is incredible in the face of human impatience. Yet, your boundaries are firm, and you will not put up with our petulant ways forever. Help me to live into the model of your Son, the Lord Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit are attentive to come alongside me to your own glory and honor. Amen.

Some Well-Ordered Wisdom (Psalm 37:1-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Don’t be worried on account of the wicked;
    don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
They will soon disappear like grass that dries up;
    they will die like plants that wither.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    live in the land and be safe.
Seek your happiness in the Lord,
    and he will give you your heart’s desire.

Give yourself to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will help you;
he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

Be patient and wait for the Lord to act;
    don’t be worried about those who prosper
    or those who succeed in their evil plans.

Don’t give in to worry or anger;
    it only leads to trouble.
Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land,
    but the wicked will be driven out.

Soon the wicked will disappear;
    you may look for them, but you won’t find them;
but the humble will possess the land
    and enjoy prosperity and peace.

The wicked plot against good people
    and glare at them with hate.
But the Lord laughs at wicked people,
    because he knows they will soon be destroyed.

The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
    to kill the poor and needy,
    to slaughter those who do what is right;
but they will be killed by their own swords,
    and their bows will be smashed.

The little that a good person owns
    is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,
because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked,
    but protect those who are good. (Good News Translation)

Today’s Psalm feels as if it could be in the book of Proverbs; it’s chocked full of wisdom sayings. And wisdom is most definitely something you, me, and the entire world needs. Indeed, we have enough fools around us running their mouths with a bunch of gobbledygook that’s nonsensical and meaningless.

We need helpful language and well-ordered words which reflect our ordered creation.

The underlying assumption of all biblical wisdom literature is that our world has been created by God with a material and moral order built into it.

That means that to buck this order is stupid and foolish. Somebody who walks off the roof of their house because they don’t believe in gravity will experience the harsh reality of that belief. Likewise, anyone who walks any old way they want in this world, without regard to the divine force operating within it, is going to experience a broken spirit.

Our human well-being depends on knowing the ordered creation we inhabit. There are social expectations which need to be realized in order to conform and be in sync with the natural (and supernatural!) universal rhythms all around us. Those expectations are framed for us as wisdom sayings.

Our actions and inactions have consequences. It’s our task to gain experiential knowledge as we move about this earth and interact with others. Notice I did not say we need to be perfect. No, instead, we are continually in a mode of improvement – seeking and learning to be better and do better.

And one of the things we all must discover is that our own personal actions and attitudes effects the entire surrounding community.

Biblical wisdom literature communicates how we receive blessing and how we hold onto it. True wisdom is to live in a responsible awareness of both Creator and creation – and then to make appropriate choices which will bless God and others.

So, in our Psalm for today, we have some wise choices to make that put us in the groove of how things are ordered and established:

  • Don’t worry about the evil simpletons around you. Why? Because in the Lord’s well-ordered world, the wicked cannot and will not survive; their end is certain, just as sure as death and taxes.

Those who are evil—
they are like straw
    blown by the wind.
Sinners won’t have an excuse
    on the day of judgment,
and they won’t have a place
    with the people of God.
The Lord protects everyone
    who follows him,
but the wicked follow a road
    that leads to ruin. (Psalm 1:4-6, CEV)

  • Trust the Lord. Everything changes. Everyone is fickle. Why trust? Because God, unlike everything and everyone else, is consistent, stable, and always true to character.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6, MSG)

  • Be patient and wait on the Lord. Why? Because God is good, all the time, and has only good plans in mind for you and me. We short circuit what God is doing whenever we fail to have patience.

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (James 5:7-8, NIV)

The best things in life are internal, not external. One’s inner well-being, peace of mind, emotional awareness, and spiritual health are worth infinitely more than any title, position, wealth, or delusions of control.

A well-ordered life comes from tapping into the divine resources available to us.

Grant us patience, O Lord, to follow the road you have taken. Let our confidence not rest in our own understanding but in your guiding hand; let our desires not be for our own comfort, but for the joy of your kingdom; for your cross is our hope and our joy now and unto the day of eternity. Amen.

– A Prayer of St. Augustine

The Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
“The Persistent Widow” by Ronnie Farmer, Jr.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (New International Version)

“God desires of us nothing more ardently than that we ask many and great things of him, and he is displeased if we do not confidently ask and entreat.”

Martin Luther

God wants us to pray! Prayer happens from a place of faith because to pray, one must believe that God is good and answers prayer. Conversely, prayerlessness is faithlessness. A person of little faith prays only a little. A person full of faith cannot stop praying.

Today’s Gospel lesson is a parable about not losing heart, about justice, and ultimately about faith.

Be Persistent In Prayer

For the Gospel writer, Luke, the widow, along with orphans, the diseased, and the handicapped, represent those who are dependent and vulnerable. And so, Jesus took a particular interest in them. (Luke 20:47, 21:3)

Widows are also presented by Luke as prophetic, active, and faithful. The widow in Christ’s parable, much like the other widows mentioned by Luke, is persistent and persuasive enough to get the justice she demands – even from an unjust judge. Her persistent petitioning is held up as a lesson in prayer.

Don’t lose heart and give up praying when your prayers are not answered as quickly as you want. No matter the prayer, we typically hope for and even expect them to be answered quickly. And if they don’t, we may get upset or discouraged.

“We must patiently, believingly, continue in prayer until we obtain an answer… Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing.”

George Müller

We pray daily for a variety of situations as individuals and as a congregation. Not all those prayers get answered in the ways we expect. Many times, it can seem like nothing is changing, or things are just getting worse. It is possible for us to despair in those moments and give up.

Yet, even if we do not immediately see an answer to our prayers, we need to keep praying. Even if we are suffering and seeing darkness all around us, we should not stop crying out to the Lord. And the content of those prayers is important.

Be Persistent In Justice

The parable is like a sandwich. The two pieces of rye bread are prayer and faith, with justice being the ham and cheese between them. The meat of the parable is in the ingredients of the prayers.

The widow is the vulnerable justice-seeker, and the powerholder is the unjust judge. The powerful and just God replaces the unjust authority’s reluctance, granting justice to vulnerable people who cry out to him day and night.

We are to persistently and passionately pray as Jesus instructed us:

“Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation….”

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:2-4, 9-10, NIV)

Jesus said, “Seek his kingdom, and these things [food, clothing, basic necessities] will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near, and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:31-34, NIV)

Be Persistent In Faith

Christ’s parable ends with a question: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? In Luke’s Gospel, there are several folks whom Jesus commended for their faith:

  • A Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, being confident that Christ could do so without even being present to do it. Jesus commented, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, even in Israel.” (Luke 7:1-10)
  • A “sinful” woman anointed the feet of Jesus with perfume and her tears, loving the Lord despite the judgmental people around her. Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)
  • Friends of a paralyzed man dug through a roof to get him access to Jesus, knowing that Christ could heal. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:17-26)
  • An unclean woman, because of a chronic issue of bleeding, touched the edge of Christ’s cloak, believing that even this small touch will heal her. Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48)
  • A Samaritan leper cried out for mercy, recognizing that Jesus is the Christ who could heal him; and then fell at his feet in profound gratitude. Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)
  • A blind beggar called out to Jesus, seeing with spiritual eyes who Jesus really is. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” (Luke 18:35-43)

So, will Jesus find faith on the earth when he returns?  Yes, he will, but it may likely be in unexpected places — not among the religious professionals or the ones certain of their own righteousness, but among the outsiders, the unlovely, the unclean, the ones certain of their sinfulness.

Perhaps the best sign of faith is a willingness to persist in prayer, like widow who persisted against all odds in her struggle for justice with the powerful judge.

Conclusion

We must have faith in Christ, and not in faith itself.

If we are honest, every one of us who has made a difficult prayer request, mustering-up all the faith we can, and then being disappointed when it did not happen, has been hurt. The unstable person vacillates when this happens, playing the “God-loves-me, God-loves-me-not” game. The person of faith, however, believes God answers prayer, and that if it is not answered when I want, God knows what’s up and will answer it in God’s own good time and grace.

None of this is about the amount of faith. Maybe you have told yourself, or somebody else has said to you, that you don’t have enough faith, and that’s why your prayer was not answered.

“The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us, but that we will finally hear God.”

William McGill

Know this: positive thinking is not the same as Christian faith. Faith is neither a matter of optimism nor of sending $19.95 to some hack preacher who promises to give you the secret of answered prayer, along with a free gold cross.

Taking a lesson from Christ’s parable about the persistent widow, we can put aside tepid, milquetoast, mumbling prayers with hunched shoulders (i.e. “Well, God, if it is your will, could you help me?”) and instead, because of our union with Jesus Christ and our redemption in him, pray confidently and boldly. In Christ, we have the privilege and authority to do so.

Blessed heavenly Father, we praise you for the grace we possess through the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in Christ’s teaching, the gift of faith, the privilege to approach your throne with boldness, and the victory you have provided for us through Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. 

We pray your mercy over our sins, the sins of other believers, and the sins of our world. We confess the sin of prayerlessness, faithlessness, apathy, complacency, and indifference to your concerns for righteousness and justice. We acknowledge the wickedness of our world through injustice, oppression, and exploitation of others.

We recognize that the kingdom of darkness has laid strategies against us, trying to keep your people from faith and prayer. So, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we claim our place as children of God. We smash and pull down all the strongholds which Satan has erected against humanity – and pray that the power of Christ’s resurrection would hinder and frustrate the plans formed against us. 

We, your people, accept the role of standing in the gap for others in prayer. In Christ, we are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. So, we bring all the work of the Lord Jesus Christ – his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and glorification directly against all of Satan’s power in their lives.

By faith we pray for fruitful lives of spiritual abundance, social justice, and sanctified relationships in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.