One Thing Is Urgent

Instant oatmeal, rotisserie chicken, self-adhesive stamps, drive-through windows, call-ahead seating … all these have something in common.  They satisfy a sense of urgency!

What is urgent?  One online definition read, “too pressing to permit further delay.”  I’ve had a few hurry-hurry-rush-rush times even today!  For just a moment, think about how much time David spent on the backside of nowhere with only sheep for company.  Did you know that of all livestock, sheep require the most care?  They are jealous, have no natural defense except to run, and are easily flipped on their backswith no way to upright themselves!  Tell me now, what one characteristic would be most needful in a shepherd?  Patience!  Although we read several places in the psalms David’s lack of patience, it was one of the most urgent needs in his life and he recognized it: “I waited patiently for the Lord … “ (Psalm 40:1)  What seems most urgent is not always most important.  See the blessings that come to us in patience: God hears me, delivers me from destruction, sets my feet in a firm place, secures my steps, gives my heart a new song (V.2-3).  Do you see what we miss when we fail to wait on God!  For the Believer, truly, only one thing is urgent: wait patiently.

Dear Lord,

Deliver me from the urgency of my own will and my own way.  Put within me a patient and quiet spirit as You do Your work of grace in me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.