Sarah, Abraham, and Amazon

A story from Genesis centers around Abraham and his wife, Sarah. They are advanced in age and God yet promises them a future lineage of an uncountable nature.  (Genesis 15 – 18).

Eventually, Sarah hears about this and laughs at the absurdity of bearing a child when she is decades beyond the physical limitations of this possibility. (In sermons, Sarah bears the brunt of this faux pas, but Abraham also laughs about this when he receives the promise at 99 years old.)

Well, anyway, most of us would laugh, too.

 This week, I was checking for an anticipated delivery. I found it quite interesting. When the package was getting close, an online map showed me where the driver was.  Watching this real-time display, I could see exactly when my package would arrive. Quite satisfying, I must admit!

But even though our childless Biblical couple were promised that “about this time next year” they would have a son to be named Isaac, it was as difficult for them to believe as it would have been to understand Amazon Prime’s one-day delivery option for anything you want. Simply put, it just does not compute.

 

And now I’ve arrived at my point.

Like a two-by-four to the face, I clearly understood that I am not patient. I completely accept and admit that I have become entitled in many ways, delivery speed being just one.

Although I believe that God is working in our lives, and I accept that His timing is not ours, and I agree that our trust should be in His goodness, I consistently forget all about that in favor of my control, my timing, and my instant satisfaction requirements.

I react not by laughing at absurdities but with anger at the affronts to my unmet expectations.

This week, besides the Amazon reference, I also found a few convicting descriptions of patience.

• For the Spiritually mature, Patience is no longer reacting the way the world expects you to react to frustrations, offenses, disappointments, lack of control, and a world full of people.
• For the spiritually mature, Patience and faith go together when we trust in God's schedule even though it fails to sync with our own.
• For the spiritually mature, Patience is understood best when realizing that who you become while waiting is more important than the thing you wait for.

All right then.  The work continues. And, if you're wondering, I have never liked fishing either. Imagine that.