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Volume. XXXIII, No. 2 “Slow” vs “Quick” Christianity We currently live in an age in which everything seems to be moving faster and faster. We now have transportation that can get us from one place to another in a matter of hours that used to take days 30 years ago, and things are only getting faster and faster. In November last year, there was an aircraft company developing supersonic passenger flights that would fly between London and New York, a distance of 5,600km, in a matter of just over 3 hours! We also seem to have more time saving gadgets and equipment. Washing machines, dishwashers, and electric blenders have been developed to help us reduce the amount of time we take to do things manually. So, you would think that we should have more time for other pursuits given the time we would save? Unfortunately, all of the above, be it time saving devices, or faster moving transportation, just seem to alter our expectations of how much we should get done. This then results in some of us feeling disheartened, upset or even angry when we do not meet or fulfil those expectations. One common expectation I would face sometimes in my job, is that of patients wanting a “quick fix”. For example, someone might come in with a common cold, usually caused by a virus. Antibiotics would not help in this situation, and most people understand this, but I have had the odd patient question me about why the best option is to wait and let your body rest and recover in its own time, rather than provide them with a script for antibiotics. In that situation, it would take me more time to do the “slow medicine” of explaining the rationale behind my recommendation, rather than do the easier and faster “quick medicine” of just printing an antibiotic script. However, the “slow medicine” would be the right thing to do. I am wondering sometimes too, whether this mentality of wanting to do things fast and to do more is also affecting our spiritual lives, so that we are practising a kind of “fast Christianity”? We are rushing through reading God’s Word, we are rushing through preparing for Bible Studies, we are rushing through prayers, because we have other meetings, commitments, practices, etc. Or are we rushing through making decisions about church matters, instead of praying, and waiting on our Lord, to give us His wisdom and guidance, when sometimes the best choice is not necessarily the fastest choice? Sometimes, the best option might be to wait. Let us see what God’s word tells us about waiting. In the KJV bible, the English word “wait” is used a total of 101 times. It is used the most in the book of Psalms (21 times) and in 13 of these occurrences, it has been translated from the root Hebrew word qâvâh, which is defined as “to wait, or eagerly look for” (Brown-Driver-Briggs definition). Often the argument against waiting is that we feel we are not doing anything productive. Waiting, for some people, equates to being idle, or slothful. As you can see by the definition of the word “wait” or qâvâh, that is not true. The act of waiting involves an eagerness, a longing, an active seeking of something, or someone. In the case of a Christian, when we are asked to “wait on the Lord,” it doesn’t mean we sit on the couch and just twiddle our thumbs or day dream! We are to actively and eagerly seek His ways! Examples of this can be seen in the book of Psalms. Let’s take Psalm 27:14, which says “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait I say, on the LORD.” In this Psalm, David actually uses the word wait not once, but twice. Most commentators think this Psalm was written when David was being sought by King Saul, and some Jewish people think it was written after he was rescued by Abishai (See 2 Sam 21:16-17). However, regardless of when it was written, the experiences of David are clearly mentioned in the Psalm. The “wicked,” the “enemies”, the “foes” and the “host” encamped against him as well as “wars” mentioned in verses 2 and 3 were the obstacles and trials David was facing at the time. But the Psalm also clearly shows David’s train of thought in regards to his attitude and faith towards our Lord, which is to seek Him (verses 4 and 8) and to sing praises unto Him (verse 6) and also to be teachable (verse 11), despite the real danger of his enemies seeking for him. This Psalm concludes in verse 14 with the words “Wait on the LORD,” and these words are again repeated. Now as mentioned before, waiting is not just sitting idly by, and the Psalm also shows us how we can wait on our Lord by looking at what David has done. Through this Psalm we see that we are to seek His word actively, sing praises unto him, even when our enemies surround us, and to reflect our trust in Him that he would protect us from our foes. Verse 11 also reminds us to be teachable to the ways of our Lord. These processes can all take time, and we should not expect answers or results quickly or in our own timeframes. We need to wait on the Lord, trust that all things will come in His timing, and trust that things will work for good to them that love our Lord. So let us be like King David, and wait on our Lord today! By Dn Raphael Ng |
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