“Waiting in Line” Psalm 37:7-9; I Thessalonians 5:14  2-15-09  Dr. Ben Sloan LMPC

                “I hate traffic.”  That’s what the tv advertisement says.  Americans spend collectively 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic, and soak up 58 supertankers of gas worth about 2 billion liters of gas, and creates according to IBM 45% of the world’s air pollution.   I am right there with them- I hate traffic too.  Chapin traffic is not nearly as bad as Columbia traffic which is not nearly as bad as Charleston traffic which is not nearly as bad as Charlotte traffic which is not nearly as bad as Atlanta traffic which is not nearly as bad as traffic in LA.  The reason so many hate traffic is they have to go somewhere and they can’t get there.  They have to stop and wait.  I hate waiting.  Waiting is unproductive, a waste of time, a waste of life.  Or is it?  
                We live in a day when we complain to death about being so busy (and we are so busy), but when we have the option of doing nothing or staying busy we choose to be busy.  Think of how much time we spend to be entertained- football, basketball, baseball, theater.  These are all choices we make to do something.  Today it is really hard to find someone who sits and doesn’t sleep but does nothing- not listen to music, not watch TV, not text on the cell phone or e-mail on the computer.  Do we have opportunity to sit and think?  Worship on Sunday may for many be the extent of sitting still without doing something. 
                I am not a believer in non-productivity.  I used to be a production scheduler, and my job was to make sure I made the most of people’s time and effort to get the product out.  But there is little room for peace, for thinking, and to build up patience.  When our goal is to always go at breakneck speed, there is little room for refreshment, recharging of batteries, building up of families.   I Thessalonians 5:14 talks about the balance of patience- it says to “warn the idle” and then it says to “be patient with everyone.”  Patience is not idleness.  Some may think idleness means not praying- but that is not what it says.  Prayer is not idleness- it is the work of patience. 
                There are lots of false definitions of patience that can discourage us.  Patience does not mean you never lose your cool.  Even the most patient should have limits- Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers, and called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers.”  If our standard is never losing our patience we will not try.  Some of the most patient people have shown at times their limits- Gandhi was patient with the British and his own people, but he did at times lose his patience.  Mother Teresa was so patient in dealing with the sick, but she showed lack of patience with those who were hard-hearted to the least of these at times.   The Bible speaks of limiting our anger- not letting the sun go down on it, not letting it get out of control, “in your anger do not sin.”  It doesn’t say, contrary to a myth- that we should never get angry.  The scriptural image of God is a very patient, kind God- but also a God who gets angry at sin in God’s holiness.  The scriptures don’t say to hold it all in.  In contrast, there are some people who think the way to be a better person- perhaps a more patient person- is to let it all out.   These are the folks who, in their pursuit of inner peace, just let whatever comes to their mind go to their lips.   Many are left devastated and broken in their wake.  Patience is not holding it in, and it is not letting it out.  It is a balance- moderation of anger, moderation of self-control.
                When I think of patience I think of fishing.  There is a time to fish, and there’s a time to give up fishing- when you recognize the fish aren’t biting.  To keep fishing in the same place, with the same bait, in the same way with no nibbles or bites is not patience it’s stupidity!   Even in fishing you know, we have eliminated patience.  Today there is fish attracting scents or baits you can put in the water to draw fish to you.  There are these really highly sophisticated sonars for boats that can tell you not only that there are fish, but how deep they are, what size they are and how many there are.   But if you put the sonars, the special scents and tricks aside, fishing is about sitting at the lake or pond or ocean waiting, hoping, and praying.  
                That really is the essence of patience.  It is not getting God to hurry up so I can get my way and get things done.  Sometimes it means stopping to listen.  You know when I learned the most about patience?  I was 25 years old and in the hospital with an undiagnosable problem for two weeks.  I was such a busy guy, and I had to lie on my back for two weeks.  I kept thinking – “God why are you doing this to me?  Don’t you know I have a lot to do to answer your call, your work, to fulfill what you have given me to do?  Two plants could conceivably shut down because I am not at work!!!”  I was letting God have it, and you know what God said?  He didn’t audibly say it, but He said it in scriptures- every time I picked up the Bible and open it, there were these words- “wait.”  “They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently on him and he will do this- he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn…be still and do not fret- it leads only to evil.”   I didn’t want to hear those words- I wanted to fret, to stew, to be anxious, to be angry. 
                It is important what are the times when we are most likely to not be patient with those around us?  These also are the times when we need to learn patience and waiting on the Lord.
1) Physical exhaustion- when you have had a rough day, you come in and you’re ready to bite everyone’s head off.   When you have played a sport and are exhausted.  When you’ve been doing yard work.   Sometimes it is good to hibernate- get the grizzly bear out of you at those times.  Kay used to tell my kids to let me hibernate on
 Saturday night when I was going over my sermon- they made a big joke about my being a bear in hibernation-
2) When you are forced to wait- Waiting in line.  Waiting for news- like news of the test you took in school, or the doctor’s exam.  When I know I have to wait, I try to prepare myself for the waiting.  Not just by taking a book, but using the time on purpose to think and pray.
3) People who are slow or unhelpful can make you lose your patience when you are very busy.  So Martha lost patience with Mary when Jesus was coming.  Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, and Martha said, “Lord tell her to get up and help me.”  Jesus told Mary what he often tells me and probably tells many of us- “You are anxious about many things- but only one thing is needed.”  Don’t be consumed with the details so that you miss the most important thing in life- that is God Himself!  God was there and Martha was worried about having the napkins right!  God was there and Martha was worried about making sure everything sparkled.
                The minister woke up late.  He cut himself shaving.  His shirt was wrinkled, he went out to get in the car, and the tire was flat.  In his speed to get to church on time, he ran a stop sign right in front of a policeman who pulled him over.  He told the policeman: “Go ahead, give me a ticket, everything else has gone wrong today.”  The policeman said, “Sir, I used to think like that until I became a Christian!”  That minister was being taught patience!  I have preached on patience probably three times in my career, and all three times the week before were total disasters.  I won’t go into too many details, but I will tell you that Monday I got in a wreck- a guy t-boned me.  Let me tell you, I have seen people literally come unglued at wrecks before- and I can understand why.  I’ve got too much to do Lord for you to teach me patience today.  Now I’ve got to go to the insurance company, go to the body shop, and ten thousand other things in an already busy week.  I don’t think I can afford to preach many more sermons about patience.  But I do know deep down, the words of James are true- consider it joy when you face trials of many kinds knowing that the trying of your faith produces patience.
                The Bible tells us some things to do to gain patience when you face trials. 
1) Confess your anger- recognize you are not in control- and try to moderate anger.
2) Continue to do good- don’t give up on God- says that three times in Psalm 37- walk in his way.
3) Do not be envious (7) of those who are still going when you have to wait.  I hear it all the time- “I was here way ahead of them- and they got into the restaurant first!”
4) Trust in the Lord (3)- He makes all things beautiful in their time. 
5) Prayer- Hope in Him (34); find your refuge in Him (40)- “Do not be anxious for anything but in everything by prayer and supplication let your request be made known to God and the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind.” 
                On this President’s Day weekend, it is good to remember the patience of George Washington.   He lost many a battle, but did not give up.  He had officers trying to take his position all the time, but while he was firm, he did not lose his patience.  He said this about Valley Forge: “To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie upon, without shoes ... without a house or hut to cover them until those could be built, and submitting without a murmur, is a proof of patience and obedience which, in my opinion, can scarcely be paralleled.”  He also was patient in the framing of the Constitution and as the first president.  We would do well to emulate his patience.