Enjoy your time in the grocery line
Don’t be in such a hurry to reach the finish line. You’ll get there when God wants you to and not a moment sooner.
Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)
What do you do when all the grocery lanes are loaded?
Do you stay put and wait? Do you jump into another lane if it looks like it’s moving faster than the others? Do you look for opportunities to leap in front of other customers in order to get to the checkout faster?
I’ve always chuckled at lane-hoppers, whether it’s at the grocery store or somewhere else where there is a line. The irony is that the ones who jump lanes rarely make it out sooner. At least, that has been my experience. Whenever I change to a different lane, it never fails; I always end up in a line that moves slower than the one I was in previously. I have learned over the years to stay put and trust the process.
Is it overkill to pray about the length of the line you’re standing in? Not at all. There’s no prayer too small for God to hear, and if it works for His timeline, He can speed it up for you. Likewise, if it’s better for His timeline, He might slow you down. Either way, it’s up to Him.
I always wonder, though, what is everyone in such a hurry for anyway? Why are all of us so impatient? I know we all have difficult things in our lives, and we all face trouble and challenges every day. But does rushing through life really make it better? Does cutting in front of others somehow make the trouble easier to bear?
I truly believe that most people who know Jesus want to help others. If we stop and think about it for a moment, we remember how much Jesus has done for us, and we can’t help but want to give to others. The trouble the enemy throws at us, though, is the temptation to rush through life.
Something about impatience precludes generosity. When we are so worried that we won’t get ahead or that we will miss an opportunity, we forget to pay attention to people around us who might need help.
When we learn to be patient, when we learn to take a step back and breathe and remember that God is in control, suddenly we wake up to the world. We notice people. We see the struggles that others are enduring. We realize that life isn’t about us, and it never has been.
When we’re not so focused on how fast our line is moving, we are free to pay attention to what others around us might need that we can provide.
God is in charge of your timeline. He has a firm grip on all the events that need to happen in your life so that you can be successful. So instead of racing through life to get to the front of the line, take a step back and enjoy where you are. Open your eyes and get to know your neighbors. You might be shocked at how easily you can help, support, or encourage someone next to you.
Don’t be in such a hurry to reach the finish line. You’ll get there when God wants you to and not a moment sooner. But if you make time and space to live a generous life with your resources, you’ll reach that finish line and find a heap of eternal treasure waiting for you on the other side.
Questions for Reflection
What makes you impatient?
Why is it so hard to live like you believe God is in control?
What would you do with your time if you weren’t always in a hurry to accomplish something?
Weekly Memory Verse
