Bolt

10/26/15

James 1:4 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – St. James

Make no mistake about it, perseverance is invasive; it’s the only way to get the job done. As a westerner, waiting is not high on my preference list. The other day I was on my way to another town and like usual, I was in a hurry; exceeding the speed-limit, although not recommended, was necessary – I only had an hour to get there. So, I stopped in a “fast-food” place and spent 20 minutes waiting. Yikes! Now I really had to move it…

The ESV, in its medallioned, cardiganed, and pipe-smoking fatherly, sagacious way, translates the word for perseverance in James 1.4: steadfastness. We might say, hold your ground. In order to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, we must hold our ground. To lose ground is to rush ahead impetuously or simply quit altogether; I know, I have ample experience in both. Waiting on God is called waiting for a reason. We’re to wait until He says, go.

I’ve watched in fascination as trained retriever hounds have been instructed to wait; and then watched in utter amazement, when after what seemed to be an uncomfortably long time(for them) filled with other distractions, they bolt to the object to be retrieved without missing a beat. Get it! And off they go!

As Americans, we’ve been accustomed for a long time to get what we’re after within a reasonable length of time. It seems, these days, that reasonable has grown longer and more unreasonable. Fewer cashiers, longer lines, less inventory – you get the picture… Everybody seems to be after the same thing: I want what I want when I want it; and I want it NOW! (like a hungry, cabby toddler…)

God doesn’t operate that way. God wants us to be trained to wait for Him to give us the go-ahead. It’s in His time, not ours. Not waiting has consequences. Not waiting is giving up what is best and most rewarding in place of the gratification of the instant. Not waiting for the Father is unbecoming for His children. True.

So with all of its maddening discomforts, mental, physical, and otherwise, it’s best to wait and let steadfastness have its full effect because the end result is perfection, completion, and lack of nothing. Sounds good to me.

Father, like teenagers, we seem to want to believe we know more than we do, and know what’s best for us; may it not be! Help me to embrace the thorniness and discomfort of waiting and like the retriever, bolt for what has been withheld only when given the command to bolt. For His sake, may I hold my ground. Thank You for Your steadfastness with me – may I reflect Your image and character by doing the same. Amen