During Thursday’s Philippians class at Panera, we talked about hard work and determination. To some, this may be an unpopular topic since we sometimes don’t want to wait, or at least not for very long, to achieve our life goals. If I heard Amy Pinkham correctly in our class, she mentioned a microwave, and as I understood her thought, a microwave gives us quick results and almost instant gratification. We may think that it is taking forever to complete our education, for us to find the perfect job, or maybe find a proper mate. We can’t expect rapid results as if we threw them into a microwave and hit the start button.
I did not come up with the phrase “microwave mentality”, but the faster we want our lives to cook, the more we rob ourselves of joy. This is especially true if whatever we feel we deserve or are expecting to happen, takes longer than we think it should. This is all the more true if we apply it to our careers, our desires and ambitions, or even our spiritual maturity. I was listening to a financial show on the radio, and the following comment was made: “I want what I want when I want it.”
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be eager and enthusiastic when it comes to planning and achieving our goals, but we do need to maintain patience in our pursuits. As the old saying goes; “plan your work and work your plan”. We must never discount our plans, but do our very best to work toward accomplishing them.
Philippians 3:12 – 16 (NKJV)
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
As mentioned, being impatient will steal the joy from our lives, and in many cases, it can steal the joy from those we call friends as well as our family. Our attitude, good or bad, can be contagious. Sometimes we must let things “cook” a little longer than we like, but we must never loose focus to the point of overcooking and burning our soul. We may never “cook” our lives to perfection, but that doesn’t mean we can’t become great chefs along the way.
James 1:2 – 4 (NKJV)
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.