In a hungry hurry? Just drive up, place your order, exchange your payment at
the window for a bagful of dinner and run.
Need
money in a rush? Drive in, slide your card into the slot, press a few buttons
and out pops cash. Snatch it and go.
Thirsty?
Insert some loose change into the machine, select a number and a cold drink tumbles
into your inpatient hands.
Drive-through
establishments are icons of our smart, fast moving, multi-tasking, self serving
culture. Fast foods, banks, dry cleaners, even a few churches provide busy
people with instant, have-it-your-way convenience. As agreeable as this may be
to our busy lifestyles, it has also contributed to a society that has come to
expect immediate solutions and results in every area of life, even in areas of
faith. We are not very good at waiting anymore.
I’ve
been praying for several years about a few things and have yet to see results I
want; in fact God appears to be silent to some of my requests. On a recent day,
while whining to God about how long the answers were taking, this phrase dropped into my mind; ‘drive-through faith.’ I knew God was asking me to think about the level
of faith I possess. If my faith expects quick and easy access to whatever I desire
at the moment or asks for His stamp of approval on all my plans instead of His,
then it isn’t faith at all.
So
how are we Christ’s followers, to react when instant healing, provision,
solutions aren’t forthcoming? What do we do when Heaven’s drive up window
appears to be closed and the divine vending machine in the sky seems to be
empty?
Hebrews
chapter eleven gives us a clue. It lists the Sunday school lesson, heroes of
faith that we love to remember; Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Joseph, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, Samuel and others. As if these didn’t have
enough anxiety waiting for resolution of their troubles, this chapter also
reminds us of many unnamed believers who faced unimaginable circumstances.
Those who were poor, mistreated, oppressed, wandering, hiding, tortured,
mocked, whipped, imprisoned, chained, and murdered for their faith. Verse 38
informs us “they were too good for this
world,” but regardless, they were here, facing huge obstacles and faith challenges.
But honestly, verse 39 is the one I’d really like to cross out of my Bible, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet
none of them received all that God had promised.” Yes, they went to their graves without the magic fairy wand of blab-it
and grab-it, name-it-and-claim-it faith wrapping up all their troubles in the one
easy step. I have to admit, reading that doesn’t excite me.
Sometimes God gives us those wonderful instant resolutions
to problems and sometimes He waits, for a long time. And then, there’s those
hard to swallow moments when His answer is,”No, not this time.” Because God is sovereign,
His eternal time table rarely corresponds with our earthly clock. Because God
is a loving Father, He doesn’t give us everything we think we need. Trusting,
believing and enduring when we don’t see the end in sight, the light at the end
of a dark tunnel, is the greatest faith of all. Jesus said to His disciple,
Thomas, “You believe because you have seen, but blessed are those who have not
seen and still believe.” (John
20:29)
God is most interested in maturing and establishing in us, faith
for the long haul. The goal is a faith that endures, solid and steady regardless
of outcomes and circumstances. Faith is not one dimensional and drive-through
faith is never enough to grow the endurance and discipline needed to outlast or
overcome the hardships we encounter here. Quick-fix faith is exciting when it
happens, but learning to balance contentment and patience with faith is essential
for all the times God’s plan or timing doesn’t match our own.
Romans 4:18 says Abraham “hoped against hope”. When all hope
was gone, when the impossible loomed like a mountain before him, he believed
God’s promise anyway and he waited. In whatever I am hoping and longing for,
God desires to grow me into a level of faith that is so natural it’s like
breathing; one that relies on Him without struggle or doubt. He is calling me to
a place of abiding confidence, rest, peace and absolute trust. I have the
option to remain as a selfish, pouty child who doesn’t want to play anymore
when things don’t go my way or submit to God’s maturing process.
Will I trust Him at all times, in all things, especially
when I’m not getting the results I want right now? God is asking me to trust
Him with my unresolved problems and His timing and wisdom in solving them. It's not always easy but I’m
learning that the best answer is,”Yes Lord. Teach me, help me to place my hope,
faith and confidence at all times, ONLY in You!”
And the apostles said to the Lord,
“Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5
