Learning something new

(from 8 Sep)

Today I busted out my slippers when I got home from work-- with overcast skies and wet ground all day, it was nice and cold!! I am excited for this time of year. I like autumn, but not just because my birthday is in October. I love sweaters and layers and cute socks... even cloudy skies are enjoyable, because they are not an everyday occurrence.

On a more eternal note, God has strengthened my faith so much recently through the ramifications of having a dislocated finger. He is sooo in control. He is soooo trustworthy. He sooo has the big picture in mind with His plan. :)

I was reading the book of Esther a few days ago and realized for the first time that approximately five years elapsed between Esther's ascension to royalty and her heroict act of saving her people from utter annihilation. So what did she do during those five years? Perform normal queenly duties, whatever those might have been? Hang around at the palace? Supervise the servants? Grow out her hair?

Since we have such a telescopic view of biblical history, we can sometimes forget that events in the lives of these long-ago yet real people didn't necessary happen simultaneously. Perhaps time eked by, in their estimation. How long did those years seem to Joseph when he was in prison? Jacob's fourteen years laboring for his wives didn't pass instantly. Abraham waited a long time to receive God's promises.

Today when we read, we see their lives as complete; a succession of rapid-fire incidents to us was a gradual process to them. From the beginning, God has used time to sanctify human hearts. So often we are asked to wait, asked to be patient. Patience is a trait we usually wish we already had, but it is something that we only gain after waiting.

Waiting for "delayed gratification," a concept completely foreign to today's culture, is a tool God uses to build our trust in Him. When faced with a decision-- take things into my own hands... or wait on God?-- we will undoubtedly discover that God is faithful, and that He blesses obedience. We are so accustomed to making decisions by how we feel that it is extremely uncomfortable to rely on the truth, strangely enough. Feelings seem weightier than the true-but-ethereal facts. But when we wait, when the outcome arrives, the gratification, though delayed, is... well... gratifying (in the completely pure sense of the word).

Our steps become more measured, our faith more steady when we practice actively waiting on God over time. Listening for His voice and leaning on His understanding take effort because it's not our default setting, but those "old man" tendencies can be overcome by "putting on" the "new man."

God doesn't make us wait because He gets some sort of sadistic pleasure out of it, or because He wants to deprive us of something good. He is always completely good, always completely kind, always completely everything He is, all at once. He always has a reason for what He does and what He asks of you, and it's probably for your increased sanctification, that is, that you might be increasingly conformed to the image of His Son. Anything that "happens" to us, anything we face, anything He asks us to relinquish-- all of it serves His purposes, for He is sovereign. He is King and one day every one will acknowledge that.

Through Esther's story, I was also reminded that not every day has to be glamorous. Those 5 or so years about which we know very little-- they were part of her life and God was at work, even though no details from those days made it into the Bible. She wasn't Esther one day and a superhero the day she petitioned the king to save her people. She was just herself, the woman God wanted her to be, and He used her powerfully. She probably didn't know why God directed her life the way she did-- why she was orphaned, raised by a cousin, or chosen to be queen of the land in which she was exiled. Yet He had a plan and orchestrated each event in her life to bring about His purposes. She waited without knowing the next phase of His plan, and when the time came she steeled herself against possible death to seek deliverance for her people. It was one major event in one person's life, with impressive ramifications. As a result of her courage, the Jewish people were saved... and they still celebrate that deliverance with a two-day festival in the spring called Purim, a very happy time of giving gifts to each other and the poor (coming up Mar 3-4, 2007).

Another Jewish holiday, coming up soon: Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. :)