On Sunday, Greg at Suncrest challenged us to do nothing for 7 days. If you find yourself in the waiting room of life, maybe the best thing you can do is just wait. Here is a phrase that grabbed me:
When it comes to waiting, I think transaction; God thinks transformation.
One of the things I have been learning about transformation is that it takes one ingredient that most of us do not want to give up: TIME. The truth is, most of us want CHANGE, not TRANSFORMATION.
I want to make a distinction here that I have noticed in my own life. We want change because we think it is instantaneous. Every ad on TV and in every magazine appeals to this desire for change and the hope that it will NOT require time.
You can lose weight and feel great in just 10 days.
You can master a skill in 10 easy lessons.
You can make a lot of money by only working 10 hours a month.
The reason this type of advertising is so successful is because it short circuits a process that involves TIME and a lot of hard work. Transformation is different. It requires TIME. Lots of it.
That’s why the waiting room of life may be the exact place we need to be. It forces us to WAIT on God and WORK through the process of transformation.
It’s true in physical fitness. An exercise regimen is important to lose weight but it’s also important because over time it develops a habit in your life that will be necessary for transformation of your physique to continue.
It’s true financially. A program like Financial Peace University is 13 weeks long and costs money. An investment of TIME and money forces you to really commit to the process which slowly transforms your habits and attitude towards money.
It’s true spiritually. Transformation of the mind and heart only take place over what Eugene Peterson calls a “long obedience in the same direction.” It’s a 3 steps forward and 2 steps back kind of life. It’s winning AND losing. It’s failing forward. It’s giving your ALL to Jesus one day and then taking a little piece back the next day. It’s a process.
It’s waking up one day and realizing you are not the same person you were a year ago. And it wasn’t ONE thing that caused it. It was EVERYTHING.
Tomorrow I want to share how God has been teaching me this personally.
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