A Fast-Paced Society Worsens the Epidemic

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The hustle and bustle of our world today doesn't make it easy to spend time with God. Everything is fast-paced, and there is a quick fix for everything.

The information/computer age has increased the pace of life more than a notch. There is a broken gadget that some super glue cannot fix. Manual labor has been replaced with the touch of a button, and everything can happen as and when you want it— now.

Anything that requires waiting is a pressure task, and it irritates us. Even our kids have no time to stop and breathe. Society has robbed our future leaders of the virtue of patience.
Spending time with God can sometimes be a daunting task, if not altogether impossible, in light of our daily schedules.

The phone rings, the pager goes off, the kids need to be picked up from school, your nails need to be done, and your hair appointment is somewhere in between. Somehow God gets left in between the to-do list and the pressing errands that spring up so easily as our day progresses.

Take a deep breath and slow down. There's a stop light ahead There's a waiting period until the light turns green, Impatience will not work well if you are going to take up your God*given responsibility of praying ceaselessly.

Here's a funny story about patience. My older daughter was recently going through a tough period in her life, as do many young adults. As a graduate student out on her own, she often is faced with tough decisions and choices that she knows will alter the course of her life. Recently, she was faced with a particularly tough situation and needed a quick fix from God.

As the pressure mounted, God seemed ever so silent. One evening during that time, my daughter went to a Chinese restaurant with her friends, and as they ate dinner, she had a thought. God could speak to her through a fortune cookie. She quickly grabbed one from the table to see what the Lord had to say to her.

The fortune cookie said, "You need to be patient," the exact words I said to her when she shared her challenges with me. She's had enough training in the Word to know that one needs to wait on God when in doubt, but the pressure sent her searching for the Word of God in the wrong place.

What is the pressure of waiting doing to you? Are you calling the psychic hotline when no one is looking in hopes that the Lord will give you a word? Watch out! You are walking in the devil's territory. Is the pressure of waiting for a godly spouse too much that sex on the Interest has become your source of release? Maybe lately your husband is giving you more problems than you ever anticipated you would have in your marriage, and your children are equally problematic.

When the pressure of life strikes, what is your source of release? How do you face the issues to which you have no solution or answer? Do you seek out the prophets in the land and try to twist God's arm for a word, or do you simply thrust yourself into His everlasting arms? There is a word that comes to those who wait on God. He may not give you the solution to your problem, but He may simply give

you enough strength to pull through until He's ready to unveil the mystery of His will. Sometimes we feel beat and vulnerable when we are faced with the strange hurricanes and tornadoes of life. We give everyone the

impression that we know what we are doing when sometimes they can clearly see we are lost and in need of help. You don't need to cover up. You need to come clean and tell it like it is. God is not impressed with your strength. He is touched by your vulnerability.

So stop, take a minute, and regroup. What is so difficult about admitting your weakness to God? He is a loving Father. Like me, you may not have experienced the love and protection of your natural father as a child. Don't close the door to God, for He is unlike your natural father. He will never leave nor forsake you, and your weaknesses only give Him an opportunity to show His strength.