“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. “–Psalm 127:2

Pastor Jack Graham wrote–I have a good friend who was sitting at a red light one day, and he began to contemplate how much time we spend sitting at red lights in our lifetime. The thought occurred to him that one of these days, after sitting at so many red lights, he’s going to die. They’ll put him in a box and drive his body down the street in a hearse, running every red light along the way.

So he thought, “How ironic. I’ll have to die to run red lights!”

I was thinking about that little thought not long ago, and I started to thank God for the “red lights” I hit in my daily life. Sometimes, they’re literally red lights. Other times, they’re people who stop me in the hallway because they need to talk. It’s those red lights that tell me I still have breath in my lungs, and I still have a mission to live for God’s purposes.

It’s easy to want to push-push-push our way through life, checking boxes only to make more lists. But what if we take more little blessing breaks in our lives and slow down a bit? Our lives would be much less stressful, and our relationships so much deeper. You’re never wasting time when you’re doing what God wants you to do.”

STOP WASTING TIME BY STOPPING AND LETTING GOD GUIDE YOUR STEPS, NOT YOUR TASK LIST.

“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. “–Job 2:3

It is a noble thing, when a man stands steadfast and faithful to God in the midst of trials and adversities. Such a man is like a mighty rock under the beatings of the angry waves of the sea.

Thus Job stood. Trial after trial came. His property was swept away by marauders and by fire, and his children were crushed by falling walls, until in a little while he was stripped of all he had, and left a childless man! His heart was broken with sorrow—but his faith failed not. The Lord kept his eye upon his servant, and was pleased to see how trustingly he endured his losses and sorrows.

The affliction of Job, as described here from the divine side, suggests to us, what may ofttimes be the reason for trouble in the lives of God’s children. Job suffered in order to prove to a scoffing adversary, the genuineness of his religion. Job did not know why these sore losses came upon him. Likewise, we do not know, when we are in trouble, why God sends or permits the affliction. But we should always bear ourselves so as to honor God, and prove the reality and sincerity of our faith. We are set to witness to the power of divine grace in trial, and should not fail God nor disappoint him. No duty of ours is more sacred—than being true to God in pain and trouble. To murmur or complain—is to sin.–J.R. Miller

“.…he is altogether lovely….”—Song 5:16

Being in the ministry 50 years you see a lot of things and make a lot of mistakes. Looking back I can say without reservation that one of the most common and deadly is refusing to wait on the Lord. People tend to run ahead, lag behind, hit the panic button, or try to knock down the door of opportunity. Those are all mistakes. God is not the author of confusion and He is never tardy. We must learn to be content where we are, doing what we can, and wait on God to do what He wants. The following message from the Baptist Bible Hour gives some good advice: