Bridget A. Thomas

This morning I had to attend a meeting across town, so I planned to go through a drive thru for some much needed caffeine. I also planned to pay for the bill of the car in line behind me, because it is fun to anonymously bless someone.

As I turned into the parking lot, a couple of other cars hurried to be the next one in line. They thought they were getting ahead, by getting in front of me. I shook my head because I knew that they really would have benefitted to be behind me, because I would have paid for their bill.

It made me think of the Bible verse, “So those who are last will be first and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16)

And then I realized it is the same way with God and people. He wants to bless us and He wants the best for us. Unfortunately we tend to run ahead because we are impatient. We want what we think is the best thing. And we want it now. But God can see that we have missed out on a blessing, by not waiting for Him to work things out.

I know I personally have a bad habit in this area. I jump and think later. I know I should prayerfully seek God, His plan, and His timing first. But too often, I don’t do it. I see something shiny and I grab it.

This fast paced world we live in plays a big role in why we are this way. We have everything at our fingertips. We don’t have to wait until the weekend to go to the bookstore to buy the book we want. Instead we can download it on our tablet right now. Need something from Amazon? You can have it delivered tomorrow. Drive down any road and you will see someone who is in too big of a hurry. In our small town, my husband and I often see vehicles pass on a double yellow line, and the car they are passing isn’t going slow. We have too much on our plates and we need everything on our to-do lists done yesterday. We have too much to do at our jobs, and not enough time to do it. We run from work to home with barely enough time to throw dinner on the table before we go to bed and do it all over again the next day.

But we don’t have to fall victim to this world and its ways. And we don’t have to settle for second best. The key is to trust God and His timing. It sounds simple, but it’s not always easy. But it all comes down to a choice. Either we believe that God has our best interest in mind or we don’t.

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

My husband and I enjoy seeing and taking pictures of wildlife in the mountains – bears, deer, turkey, horses, and even coyotes at times. But one of my favorite pictures is of a bird, just sitting on a fence. I think I like it so much because he seems to have it all together. He is not worried or stressed. He is confident and at peace. (See pic below.)

We can be like that too. In fact, there is even a Bible verse about this. “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (Matthew 6:26)

From now let’s try to wait on God and His timing. Instead of running ahead towards something that we think we can’t live without, let’s wait and allow God to give us His very best.

(Picture by Bridget A. Thomas 😉)

If we don’t seek God, then we will seek other things to replace Him.

You might recall a story from the Old Testament. Moses went up to the top of Mount Sinai where God gave him the Ten Commandments, as well as other numerous rules and regulations. Well, Moses was on top of the mountain for a long time, and the Israelites down below got restless. When Moses finally came back down, he discovered that they had made an idol out of gold and were worshipping it. Of course this made the Lord angry.

Every time I read this passage, it makes me feel irritated with the Israelites too. But then I have to wonder, am I any better? Aren’t people today just as shortsighted as they were back then? You might think since we don’t have traditional idols like they did back then, we are not committing idolatry.

Unfortunately, that is a lie and a trap from the enemy. Anything that we put above God is an idol. This means money, other people, ourselves, success, status, relationships, alcohol, drugs, video games, television, food, social media, what other people think of us, selfishness, our job, shopping, our car, marriage, children, our home – all these things and more can become an idol to us. Most people don’t even realize how deeply in their heart they treasure these other things.

That is why it is especially important to keep our eyes on the Lord. He should be included in every area of our lives. He will help us to stay on course. He will keep our hearts in check. He will satisfy our needs.

In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean? Particularly the first movie in the series, the Curse of the Black Pearl? Do you remember the scene when Elizabeth is on the ship with Captain Barbossa and the crew, and the captain explains the curse to her? It reminds me of that. Barbossa says, “The drink would not satisfy. The food turned to ash in our mouths.” If I turn to worldly things, I will never quench my thirst. I will continue to feel hunger pains. I will never be satisfied. Nothing in this world can make my heart content.

But Jesus provided a beautiful promise. When I turn to the Lord, I will find true contentment in life.

(Photo by Siddharth Gomez.)

Have you ever played the board game Sorry? In case you’re not familiar, here’s a quick overview. Each player gets four pawns. They are all placed on the player’s own “start” position. The object is to be the first player to get all four pawns to their “home” position. Throughout the game you draw cards. You need certain cards to even move out of your starting position. Then the cards will tell you how many spots you can move on the board or if you’re eligible for any other type of moves (such as switching places with an opponent). A lot of it is luck. But some strategy and ruthlessness are involved as well. The name of the game – Sorry – is derived from the fact that at times you might tell your opponent you are sorry as you bump him back to “start.”

My husband and I were playing this game recently. It was my turn and I drew a 7 card. With this particular card, you can choose to either move one pawn seven spaces. Or you can split it up between two pawns (3 and 4, 6 and 1, etc). One of my pawns was very close to my “safe zone.” Each player has a “safe zone” on route to their “home.” The other players can’t touch you there, meaning they can’t bump you back to start. So I was going to move that pawn the seven spaces to get it into the safe zone.

My husband disagreed with this plan of action. One of his pawns was sitting nearby the same pawn of mine that I planned to move. He felt I should split the seven moves between two pawns, and move the one pawn in question just enough spaces to make it land where his pawn was. This would force his pawn to go back to “start.”

As you can see, my husband and I have two different thought processes when playing this game. My husband prefers the more assertive route, bumping other players out of the way. I, on the other hand, would rather play it safe.

This made me think about my life, where I often play it safe there as well. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a good thing. If we are going to make any progress in life, we need a bit of grit. If we want to see our dreams come to pass, we have to take chances. If we want to walk on water, we need to get out of the boat. If we want to win the game, we have to take a shot.

Take some time to think about the next move in your life. Is God calling you to step out of your comfort zone? Pray boldly and courageously. Then take a step of faith and make your next move.