On iphone games and waiting on God....

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.”

(Psalm 32:8)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

(Proverbs 3:5)

I'm a bit headstrong when it comes to any kind of game; board games, video games, you name it. Once I start a game, I play to win. That's exactly what I was doing last night with my husband's iphone. The name: Oven Break. The game: to get the gingerbread man out of the oven to safety.

I played for an hour or so before I finally slammed down the phone, angry that I just couldn't seem to win. This was a game of hand eye coordination where you navigated gingerman through valleys, over sharp objects, and across dangerous territory, but I noticed that because I was over anticipating, I'd continually impale my little player. I'd see the obstacle before me and I'd react too soon, always ending in disaster.

Light bulb!

How many times had I seen an obstacle and moved too soon, without God? And how many times had it ended in disaster? Part of my headstrong nature is that I continually believe that I know best, but more often than not I get myself into deeper trouble.

The Israelites had this issue too. Instead of waiting on Moses to come down the mountain, they built their own God, instead of trusting God in the dessert, they moaned and whined about the trip. They continually thought they knew better than the God of the universe and often they only ended up in deeper trouble.

We're at a disadvantage in the time we live in. Everything is fast paced and instant gratification, and so we naturally expect God to do the same. Like a magic 8 ball, we expect the answers right away.

It took a game to remind me that often the most beneficial and spiritually affirming times, were those where I had to wait on God's timing. When I did manage to wait for God before I moved, the outcome was always victory. When I jumped the gun, it was always chaos and disaster.

Take a lessen from my poor impaled gingerbread man. God's ways are better than ours. He knows what's ahead of us and how to direct us to a victorious ending (even if it's just an iphone game!)