I've wasted a lot of my life. But so has God.
I never wanted to waste my life (does anyone?), but as a young Christian I was all thrust and no vector. John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life showed me better how not to waste it.
But the book didn't warn me that often God Himself would waste my life. I chafed when circumstances crafted by God essentially threw away huge chunks of my time.
Why does the same God who said "the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few" impede the service of the laborers He does have?
Of course this has happened to other believers also. Abraham spent years waiting for the promised son. Job lost his life savings and had to start over. Moses spent 40 years herding sheep - and another 40 years herding rebels. David used up a lot of time running in the desert. William Carey lost years' worth of translation work in a fire. Jim Elliot's widow Elisabeth, who had a vibrant ministry teaching women, spent the last decade of her life with dementia.
We could even think of Jesus' first 30 years on earth. One recorded conversation from age 12. The rest, forgotten.
It seems God is so confident of His team's victory that He often puts some of His players on the bench.
If God has left you on the court, don't dribble. Play with all your might. But if He has benched you, trust Him.
"They also serve, who only stand and wait."
So true, so true. All thrust, no vector! that's good. Glad to have you back at it. Been a long time.
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