Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1313 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Don't Rush God – Ask Gramps

Wisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1313 of our Trek and time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday, we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life, and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can ‘Ask Gramps.’  Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, this is not possible. No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask dad or gramps questions about life in many areas.

We may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable.  If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to guthrie@wisdom-trek.com

So the question for this week is:

“Hey Gramps, I know I need to be more patient in life, but I find myself wanting to rush ahead. This habit also impacts my spiritual growth. I want to be spiritual, but I want it now, without having to go through the discipline I know in my heart is needed. Can you share some wise advice to help to stay focused on what is most important?

 Don’t Rush God

In our western cultures, and actually throughout the world, we have become so accustomed to having most of our desires fulfilled instantly. Most of us use a lot of "instant" things. Instant messaging. Instant coffee. Instant rice. Instant access. Instant results, instant meals at drive-throughs. You get my drift, right? I suppose I am as bad as many people and worse than many about the desire for quick outcomes. Although, as I age, I am learning to be a bit more patient with others and all of life.

While we may try to defend the value of quick turnaround in many settings, I think it serves us poorly for the most part. It caters to our impatience. In fact, I would say it serves to magnify impatience. Not every destination can be reached by a shortcut, and by attempting to, we fall prey to compromising our values, ethics, and standing before God.

Nearly everyone wants to have a good reputation. Even in our pursuit of a good reputation, if we are impatient, it can lead to the shortcut path of doing a good thing for the wrong reason. That is to say, we support situational ethics, or the ends justifies the means. We may do something just to get noticed. Such as conspicuously giving a sizable gift at church or some other charitable organization. In other words, being conspicuous with a gift for the sake of being honored. Building character as the foundation for a good reputation is a slow process that takes place over time and without calling attention to oneself. It can take an entire lifetime to build and can be destroyed easily by impatient decisions.

Unfortunately, Christ-followers, and even Christian ministries can be the worst offenders of all. We have been given important kingdom-building tasks to accomplish in this world. Just as Rome wasn’t built overnight, neither is God’s kingdom. We have a mission from Jesus himself to tell everybody the good news of God's love. For many churches, this seems to translate to filling up our church buildings and making a splash in our communities. So we get loud, bully our own members, and elbow our way into the consciousness of people who've made it clear they aren't that interested in what we are doing.Both individual Christians and whole communities of believers seem to fall prey to the temptation. We try to get God's results in our lives by preying on the fears of others, causing a sense of impatience. We cater to someone's insecurities and felt needs.

God views our lives from the perspective of all eternity. God is not ever in a rush. It is His desire to purify us like gold, no matter how long that takes.

2 Peter 3:8

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

A Spirit-filled life is created through a personal relationship with God, nurtured through investing time with Him and in churches or communities where people challenge and encourage one another, and brought to maturity through struggle and failure over time. There are no shortcuts. The growth of souls and becoming more like Christ is a slow growth process as our lives reflect the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!So be patient with yourself and others. Be skeptical of quick fixes, pat answers, and shortcuts but be open to struggle and questions. Don't get fixated on programs for your spiritual growth, but focus instead on caring about others and helping them. Right where you are today is where God wants to start to build you into a person who will reflect his nature. He won't rush you. Be patient with yourself.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Friday for another question on our ‘Ask Gramps’ episode. Our next trek is Mediation Monday, where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.'If you would like to listen to any of the past 1312 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most of all, your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,' and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you on Monday!