From Out of Ur:
"We like to take matters into our own hands and to progress. We like to call some opportunities "open doors" in order to make progress. But "open doors" aren't always an invitation from God, said Andy Stanley (a pastor)...not when they're against God's laws, principles, and wisdom... I'm not too good at evaluating my circumstances. I get emotional and saturated by my environment, especially when it looks like the stars are aligning and "God is opening a door." He said "opportunities must be weighed against something other than the uniqueness of the circumstances surrounding them."
We like to make progress, so when something looks, feels, sounds like a God thing, we chalk it up to what? A God thing. But in 1 Samuel 24, David says this to Saul, "May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. David waits. And through waiting, his situation later turned out better than if he would have been crowned king by means of assassination. King David reminded me that the most direct route to what I want is RARELY the best route."
I have included the money quotes from above because this is something I have struggled with in the past and continue to struggle with on occasion. My struggle is and has been centered around the speed with which God works in my life (or doesn't). Like the author of this piece, I get saturated in my environment, including the world, which says, "More now, faster is better, let's have it yesterday."
My tendency is/has been to take what the Lord gives me and try to put it into warp speed and get it now. It really takes a lot for me not to do that, partly out of selfishness and wanting what I want now, but also out of eagerness for God's full blessings to be in my life as soon as possible. It is completely unacceptable to take something you have received through God's grace and blessings, appropriate it solely for your own selfish uses, and say to Him, "Thanks God...it's all good, I got it from here and I know best, so you can go now." Anything handled in this way, be it things or relationships, will ultimately be lost, or worse yet, cursed.
I am reminded of a quote from a book I once read, "God does not often answer our prayers right away because he desires a relationship with us, and sometimes that is the only way for him to get us to stick around and talk to Him". This is one of many good reasons God does not give us a fast forward button in life, because we would miss out on the journey, the walk with Him that He desires and is so rich and rewarding. It is also one of the things I take comfort in when I have to tell myself to re-focus, slow down, and wait upon the Lord, because I know what He has for me in His time is the best of all possible things and it is what will make me the happiest and best suited for service in His kingdom.
