‘’Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Good counsel from the Psalmist’s pen (37:7), but experience has proven that it is often easier said than done. So many examples of disaster have been recorded when it is not heeded, however, that it behooves all who want to go the way of wisdom to think twice before ignoring the admonition to “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way.” (Ps. 37:34)
Abraham and Sarah wearied of waiting upon the Lord to fulfill His promise of a seed who would carry on their family posterity, and through whom God had promised to bless their descendants immeasurably. But their plot to take things into their own hands and involve Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar—using her as an accomplice with Abraham in birthing a son, Ishmael—was fraught with unending, calamitous results. It was all a matter of not being able to do what the Psalmist would later personalize when he wrote: “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry.” (40:1)
Or, remember Saul, newly anointed, first-ever human king of Israel, who had been instructed by the prophet Samuel to wait at Gilgal for Samuel to arrive there, so that offerings and sacrifices could be made to God? But when Samuel did not arrive just when Saul thought he should have, Saul took it upon himself to offer the burnt offerings. The price he paid for not waiting upon the Lord in that instance was huge. Samuel announced that same day to Saul: “But now thy kingdom shall not continue…because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” Getting out ahead of the plain directives of God is never a good idea, to which Saul’s life sadly testifies. (I Sam.13:8-14)
David, the man after God’s own heart who succeeded Saul as king, learned that lesson the hard way, too. The Ark of God had been in the cities of the Philistines, and the people of Israel had not enquired of God at the Ark in over 20 years. After having been afflicted with severe boils, the Philistines sent the Ark, in the way their “priests” had directed them, to the city of Beth Shemesh—and eventually to Kirjath-jearim, where David and his men retrieved it as they set out to move it to Jerusalem. The problem was, they got ahead of God. Rather than seeking God’s counsel as to how the Ark should be moved, they tried, unsuccessfully, using the methods of the Philistines. In the process of moving it, an Israelite, Uzza, died because he was the wrong man, doing a job that God had given specific instructions for (Numbers 4:15). His death could have been avoided, had David sought to do God’s work in God’s way. But he impatiently forged ahead with what he thought, in all sincerity, was the best, quickest, and easiest way to get the job done.
We’ve all done similar things. Maybe a young preacher, having gone to a Bible school or institute for a couple of years, feels he does not need to finish the requirements for the course that would demand two more years of schooling. After all, he reasons, Jesus is surely coming soon, souls need to be saved, and “I have the Bible to study—that’s all I need.” So he jumps feet first into the ministry, only to soon find out that he would have been wise to have spent the extra two years in preparation; now, however, with a wife and small child to care for, he cannot possibly see his way to return for more schooling. Sadly, in time, he becomes a ministry “dropout.”
A pastor, a few years into his first pastorate, is restless about how his people are responding to the preaching and teaching of the Word. He doubtless has some good opportunities in this field, and there have been victories, but things are not moving as fast as he had anticipated they would. With very little prayer and patience, he submits his resignation and puts the word out that he is available and seeking a church. Only His heavenly Father knows what might have been in that place, which had at one time looked so promising, with some patient waiting on God.
Many of us, whether in ministry or in secular vocations, are afflicted from time to time with what has been called “Go Fever.” That is when we are so bent on doing a certain thing that we are willing to forge ahead with our plans, in spite of good counsel from the best sources, that we should pause our plans and seek more time for further wise direction.
Such was the case in the ill-fated launch of the Challenger space ship in 1986. The temperature in Houston on January 28, 1986, was a record low of 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The engineer of the rubber O-rings that were critical to the mission had raised concerns with his superiors that those rings might not be able to expand properly, given the extremely low outside temperature. His caution was not heeded. The mission was ready to launch. Seven astronauts, including the social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe, were suited and in their places. Sadly, 73 seconds into the flight, the world watched as a terrible explosion blew the craft to bits. The entombed astronauts had no expulsion equipment, and all perished in the disaster. Some later attributed the failed mission to “Go Fever.” Everything was set to launch. There was pressure on NASA to execute another space mission. So, in spite of concern about the possible O-rings failure, the order was given to “Go!”
How about you? Can you wait for certainty from God that right now is the right time to “Go?” Or, might you have a case of “Go Fever?” That’s between you and God. But if you get out ahead of His clear leading, it could be dreadful.
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Ps.27:14)
YOU and GOD 