The Whole Point

I sold my Jeep yesterday. Hooray! And yet again I sold something very quickly to the very first person who came and looked at it. People are going to start thinking I'm a good salesperson, which is far from accurate. But with the sale of Big Red comes the brand new search for my next Jeep. And here's where God likes to teach me a little thing called "patience".

I've read Philippians 4 more times than I can count. Be anxious about what? Nothing? Don't worry about anything? Are you crazy? I mean, come on. There are just those times, situations, circumstances, where you have to freak out a little - put some good old fashioned panic into the mix and get down to business. Right?

That's what I'd like to think. But God seems to always desire to teach me just the opposite. I hear my wife used words like "hasty" and "rash". I grit my teeth. I know she's right. I feel greater frustration. Not only impatient, but wrong again! How many times will I run ahead of the Father like a little 3 year old trying to cross the street when his mom is screaming, "WAIT!" Slow down, Brian. You'll miss it if you don't. And then I remember why. Why it's so important to stop...slow down...not get anxious...resist the worry...refuse the hastiness...and rest. Give God the opportunity to guide and provide. Give yourself the chance to discover His faithfulness all over again. Refuse those useless reactions and choose to pray. Novel idea, I know.

Yes, I've read it and meditated on it a thousand times. "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. And when you do the peace of God, which is greater than all human understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus." And I will continue to come back to these words my whole life until it comes to me just as naturally as breathing. I will wait on the Lord. That is the whole point.