The LifeVesting Cycle
1. Allocate your resources.
2. Explore the possibilities.
3. Follow your passion.
4. Execute your plan.
5. Protect your investment.
6. Enlarge your capacity.
7. Wait
It’s one of my biggest fears.
I’m standing face-to-face with the God of heaven to account for my life.
My sin is covered, but God is looking at what I did with the life He gave me. And he holds up a thumb and index finger, one inch apart.
“Andy,” He says, “you were this close, to seeing it happen, and you quit. The blessing you were looking for was just around the corner.” No wonder he’ll wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Many a wonderful idea started well, but never came to fruition because somebody pulled the plug too soon, and refused to wait.
Just for the record and the sake of full disclosure, I hate waiting. I hate being told that waiting is the solution to any problem or situation I’m facing. I believe traffic lights will be in hell, and I hate waiting at them – particularly when nobody’s coming from the direction of the green light. I hate waiting in line and loathe waiting on hold while listening to a computer on the telephone (which will also be in hell).
That said, and my flesh notwithstanding, there is no substitute for time. And the larger the investment, the longer the wait. It takes 40 days to make a squash, and 40 years to make an oak tree. How long do you suppose it takes to make a man or woman of God? I heard of a recent controversial study that suggests it takes 26.5 years to make an adult in the U.S. Makes sense to me. Jewish tradition held that it took 30 years to make a rabbi. (Yes, that’s why Jesus waited.)
David McCasland tells of a lesson he learned in waiting from a man who played double-bass in the Mexico City Philharmonic. Luis Antonio Rojas told him that that the finest instruments are made of wood that has been allowed to age naturally to remove the moisture. “You must age the wood for 80 years, then play the instrument for 80 years before it reaches its best sound,” he said. “A craftsman must use wood cut and aged by someone else, and he will never see any instrument reach its peak during his own lifetime.”
One of the problems we have with waiting is that we don’t know how. We think of waiting as the kind of thing you do in a bureaucrat’s line or a doctor’s office (now you know why they call them “patients”). James offers a different idea: “The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts….” (James 5:7-8, NASB).
Waiting on God is anything but idle. The farmers I know spend about two weeks out of the year harvesting. What are they doing the rest of the time? Clearly defining what the harvest is. Plowing. Creating an environment where the life in the seed can be nurtured. That may require fertilizing, irrigating, or even improving the seed. Then sowing faithfully, and weeding carefully – removing any obstacles to fruitfulness without damaging the harvest itself. Then maintaining – taking care of equipment, and other types of administration. Their harvest is determined by what they do while they’re waiting.
So is yours.
If you’re “in the waiting room” and you’re tired of being in a holding pattern, remember – you may be “this close.” And remember the old saying: “When God closes a door he opens a window.” But sometimes it’s hell in the hallways!
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