I Want it NOW!

By Patrick Hawthorne

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6)

The Lord is dealing with me concerning a new subject.  It is about living a humbled life before Him.  Often I have prayed, “Lord, I want to be used by You.” Yet, the question that keeps coming back to me is “Are you humble in spirit?”

In my last post, I wrote about preparing to be prepared.  Sometimes we may not be seeing open doors in our lives because we are not prepared for when that door does open.  If you missed that post, please click on “Preparing to be Prepared.” What about those other times? What if you have done all you know to do to be prepared?  What if you are praying more, reading the Word more, and seeking the Lord more?  What if you are doing all the right things, yet the door just will not open for you?

Notice what 1 Peter 5:6 says. (What?) “Humble yourself.”  (Where?)  Under the hand of God.  (Why?)  So that He may exalt you.  (When?)  In DUE TIME!

“But I want it NOW!”  If you are familiar with Willy Wonka, you will recognize that phrase from the famous temper tantrum of the spoiled brat Veruca Salt!

“But Lord… I want it now and I want it my way.”

The Lord says, “Humble yourself under My mighty hand so that I may exalt you in due time.”  If you get a revelation of this, it will help you to better understand Psalms 37:4-5, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you (place within you) the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.”

This has been a long, hard lesson for me.  The Lord placed a desire in my heart to teach His word, yet the Veruca Salt within me keeps shouting, “But I want it now and I want it the way I think it ought to be.”  It’s funny how the Lord tends to grow silent in those moments.  Yet, when I become humble, He begins to speak again.

Now, here is the biggest part, at least for me.  I am learning that I must humble myself and submit to the authority within the Church even when I know that, because of my training, there might be a better way to accomplish a certain task.  OUCH!  Did I just hit a nerve with someone?

“Ok, Lord.  I will do it Your way…even if it seems to take me on a path that is completely opposite of where I think I should be.  I will do it with a smile on my face and with total trust in You that You know best.”