As little effort as possible and instant gratification are in-things. Remote controls can operate almost anything. Microwaves heat food in seconds and cook it in minutes. Hi-speed internet eliminates almost all waiting when web-surfing.
Due to impatient drivers, roads have become more hazardous. Waiting for anything has become almost unthinkable.
The Bible talks about due Time...?!? When exactly is that?
It helps to understand that there are some things that will simply never occur at the high speeds our technology-driven society has conditioned us to expect. Although many parents do everything in their power to transform toddlers into miniature geniuses before age three, there is a limit to how fast babies will grow and mature, and there are no shortcuts.
Likewise, there are no shortcuts to growing from baby Christians to adult Christians.
Spiritual growth requires a healthy diet of reading and studying the Word of God, along with obedience to its simple commands and gaining the experience to rightly discern and respond to the rest. And that requires nothing less than . . . time.
Most of us come to the Lord with baggage in one form or another: wrong ideas, unhealthy mental/emotional defenses, impaired emotional development due to attempting to deal with life's problems our way, or the way our parents taught us, or the way tradition or the popular culture teaches us.
Some of us come to the Lord with health problems, financial difficulties, relationship or marriage problems. God is able, even willing, to give us miracles in all these areas. That is always a possibility, and we should never...ever...rule that out. If we need a miracle, ask for one.
But spiritual growth and experience comes through obedience to the Word of God and waiting on the Lord. In many things, God will allow us to work out our own deliverance, with fear and trembling.
The Bible says. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Fear of the Lord is the only healthy fear. But even that must be tempered with knowledge of his Word and understanding of his love. The Bible says wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all our getting, get understanding.
When we acknowledge God in all our ways, he can direct our paths. That makes making obedience to what we understand about the Word of God a priority (Proverbs 4:7).
We are talking about "prospering our souls" (3 John 1:2).
Jesus said, "be doers of the Word and not hearers only." When he said that, he was clarifying the fact that he is no prescriber of quick-fixes. There is no such thing as remote control, hi-speed, or microwave faith. God moves fast. He travels on the wings of the wind, but faith must be developed.
And that takes . . . time.
But time alone is not enough. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith works by love. But if we are hearers only and not doers, we cannot expect faith to grow . . . No matter how much time we give it.
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