Immediate Satisfaction

I've recently become very aware of how our society runs on immediate satisfaction. We want our food fast, quick results, and the perfect thing the first time. Did you know that Amazon is providing a service where you can order something online and they get it to you within a few hours?! Anything we want with the click of a button and we'll have almost immediately. When things don't work that way (which lets be real, is the majority of the time), we get rather upset. This is why gym memberships sky rocket at the beginning of the year and then everyone stops going by February.

I think this is also why my generation has a problem with owning our faith and having a long-lasting relationship with Christ. 

How many times have we prayed for something for a week and then decide that it's not happening so we just stop praying about it?

Guilty? I am. 

How many times do we want to grow closer to Him and when it doesn't happen immediately, we decide that it's not gonna happen? 

In scripture, we aren't told that our prayers will be answered immediately. When it comes down to it, there isn't a sense of time in Heaven, so of course God doesn't answer our prayers depending our own timeline. In 1st Corinthians 9, Paul talks about running the race. He says to,

"Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This race that Paul talks about running isn't a sprint, it's a marathon.Throughout this race, there will be times when we have strength and power but there will also be times when we are weary and tiresome. However, throughout it all, we run the race for Him and trust that He will strengthen us.

Psalms 37:7 tells us to "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." 
I am SO bad at being still and waiting for the Lord to act. By nature, I'm a "fixer." I see a problem, so I fix it. I don't like something that's happening, so I fix it. But this isn't what scripture is telling me to do. I'm told to wait patiently for Him to do His work. 
 

This is something that has been on my heart the last few weeks. When I'm in a situation that I don't want to be in, I need to trust that God will either remove me from that situation, somehow show me the reason for being there, or simply just give me the strength to continue on until He works it out for His good. 

I've decided that I need to pray for this daily. So when I call my mom crying about hating something, like I did recently, I can be reminded that I am there for a reason. Whether it is just for me to simply grow as a person or to influence others around me, I am there for a reason that I do not know yet. But the Lord knows it all, so who am I to question that?