The Shortcut
In this age that we live, everyone seems to be in a hurry to get from one place to another. To speed up the journey we look for shortcuts to reduce the travel time. Perhaps we may cut out 5 min. from our journey by taking a shortcut. We pore over our street directories to find out the quickest way from one point to another. In modem day society, people want things done and they want them done NOW. They want to buy things but they don’t have the money so they use their credit cards hoping to pay later… sometimes this later causes great financial distress, as there is a danger of over-spending. People are very impatient these days in all aspects of life it seems.
Sometimes, however, the shortcut does not prove to be beneficial as in the overuse of a credit card – or it may be fraught with danger.
I read a story that happened to a family one winter during a snowstorm. They were traveling home on the main road when the traffic slowed to a crawl. Realizing that it would be a long time before they arrived home, the driver decided to take a short cut on some side roads. They must have been side roads like the ones I was used to in Vancouver, BC when we lived in Canada. They rarely see a snow plough on the side roads – those are reserved only for the main roads. Well this man did decide to try a short cut and it led through some country roads to a point where the river had overflowed the road. Needless to say the vehicle got stuck while trying to cross that river and the family ended up having to abandon the vehicle for the night and walk the rest of the way home. The short cut did not prove to be a short cut after all. Far better would it have been for them to remain on the main road, even though the traffic was only moving at a snail’s pace.
In our spiritual lives we often try to take short cuts. We read in Revelation 14:12, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God; and have the faith of Jesus.” Two elements are shown here to be of vital importance in each of the saints’ lives. Those that will be found ready to meet Jesus will be those that are keeping the commandments and those who have learned patience. We will have to learn to be patient and to wait on the Lord.
The Lord has shown great patience with us. We, like the Prodigal son, have wandered away from the Father’s home and He is patiently waiting for us with open arms. When will we come back? He waits and waits. Finally, when we do turn back, He is thrilled and all of heaven bursts into singing. Some wait too long. . . my prayer is that you, who are reading here, will not try the Lord’s patience.
Moses: The Lord wishes to see His followers also have patience. We can learn from the great men in the Bible. Moses learned patience by tending sheep in the wilderness. He was ready to fight for the freedom of the Israelites, but instead the Lord made him wait 40 years. Those must have been 40 long years for him. Finally at the age of 80 he was sent on his mission. He tried to take matters into his own hands by killing the Egyptian, but his plan backfired and he was banished from Egypt to a life of a shepherd, to learn the necessary patience he would need to lead the host of Israel.
Abraham needed to learn patience and therefore God made him wait until he was 100 years old before his son of promise was born. He had to wait longer than he expected. When Abraham first arrived in Canaan, God promised him that his seed would take possession of the land. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had no children, and Abraham was about 75 years old at the time. Even so, Abraham believed God’s promise and trusted that the Lord would provide a male heir.. Yet it was not until Abraham was 100 years old that Isaac was born.
Abraham tried to take a shortcut by listening to his wife and taking Hagar for a second wife. He thought this would speed up the plan of God. Once again, we see disaster in the family. This shortcut did not bring peace and happiness to the family of Abraham. Rather it brought discord and jealousy; finally Abraham was forced to send away his son and second wife in order to keep peace in the family. Abraham should have patiently waited for God to fulfill His promise. He finally did learn patience through all the mistakes along the way.
Abraham was commended for his patience, but it was a hard learned lesson. Receiving the fulfillment of the promise was a long and painful process for Abraham, but in the end, he learned to trust God fully. “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Heb. 6:15. Then we see him promptly act when God gave His ~1nal test to Abraham, ” And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering. And rose up and went unto the place of which God told him.” Gen. 22:3. Now he had perfect trust in God. He may not have understood God’s reasoning behind this request, but he didn’t question. He got up right away and fulfilled the commission
We also are to patiently endure while waiting for God to fulfill His promises in us.
Jacob. We read of Jacob also trying to take a short cut. He lost patience and faith in God, that God would give him the promised birthright. He didn’t think God could deliver on the promise and, along with his mother, he felt that there was a need to use deception in order to bring about the promised blessing. Perhaps they told themselves that they were fulfilling God’s will with their act of deceit. Here again we see great unhappiness in trying to take matters into our own hands, rather than leaving things to God, waiting for Him to deliver on His promise. This act of deception meant that Jacob would be a fugitive for 20 years, before being able to return back to his home country. Again we see Jacob resort to scheming when faced with trouble while Jiving with his father-in-law, Laban. Laban did start to change his wages after some time causing distress to Jacob, but rather than trusting God to give him increase, he thought of a way to increase his own herd, while Laban’s did not grow as quickly (Gen. 30:37-43), Then when God commanded Jacob to return to his own country, he did not have the courage to tell Laban. He rather thought of a plan to escape while Laban was away shearing sheep, this was easier than having to face Laban with the possibility of Laban refusing to let him take his goods with him, as they all originally came from Laban.
After reconciling with Laban, he thenretlli11ed but in fear of his brother’s wrath. Through the many great struggles he endured, he finally learned to trust in God and have complete faith that He will deliver on His promises. His reunion with Esau proved to be peaceful. Jacob should not have tried to scheme in order to avoid facing difficult situations. If he would have trusted in God he would have spared himself a lot of grief. Although their ends may have agreed with God’s promise, the manipulative means used by Rebekah and Jacob had unforeseen consequences. All this resulted because Jacob was unwilling to wait on God, and allow the Lord to accomplish His promises in His own time and way. Never will we have to sin in order to accomplish God’s will.
The disciples of Jesus had waited for three and a half years for Him to take the throne of David, yet He did not. How long would they have to wait? Peter was losing patience. He was ready to fight and take the throne by force as we see him using his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane when the angry mob came to arrest Jesus. Jesus answered Peter by saying, “Put up again, thy sword into his place; far all they that take the sword shah perish with the sword.” Mat. 26:52. Then Peter went as far as to deny Jesus. He sadly lost patience, but the Lord in His mercy forgave this poor, broken man. Peter became a pillar in the church of God after this experience, but what heartache he had to endure after his denial.
Many times the shortcuts we try to take, cause us more pain and suffering than we would have endured had we never veered from the strait and narrow way. “Jesus invites us to come to Him and He will lift the weights from our weary shoulders and place upon us His yoke, which is easy, and His burden, which is light. The path in which He invites us to walk would never have cost. us a pang had we always walked in it. It is when we stray from the path of duty that the way becomes difficult and thorny. The sacrifices which we must make in following Christ are only so many steps to return to the path of light, of peace and happiness. Doubts and fears grow by indulgence, and the more they are indulged, the harder are they to overcome. It is safe to let go every earthly support and take the hand of Him who lifted up and saved the sinking disciple on the stormy sea.” T 4, p. 558. God has ‘a’ reason for making us wait. It is not simply to watch His created beings suffer and test their patience. He makes us many promises in His Word and He has utter confidence that He can fulfill every one of them. But His promises usually are not carried out for us immediately. He wants us to realize that He is not a vending machine, dispensing treats at the push of a button. Nor would we expect to be able to call Him up and tell Him to send us what we need by overnight express. Like Abraham, we must receive His promises in faith, with great patience. Often in the workplace many of us face this concept every day. We accept contracts for products and services, days, weeks or months in advance of the actual delivery. Yet, we believe they will come at the right time. Trusting and waiting is a part of every day life. God has a time schedule and we are not to ask God to deliver on our time schedule, rather we are to go by His. God wants to make us grow rather than just. giving things to us. He cultivates faith and perseverance by doing His work in our lives in His way and in His time. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Heb. 12:2. Christ is to be our pace setter in the Christian race. As we allow Him to lead, we will hopefully avoid the tendency to run ahead of God. Instead we need to keep in step with the Lord. We can do this by adopting God’s values and focusing on His desire for us rather than blindly running after what we want. This may require an attitude adjustment on our part. When we make a habit of turning to God for direction, over time our values will come to conform to His own. By keeping our eyes on Christ, we will develop the discipline we need to follow Hiswill in everything we do. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18.
ONLY ONE WAY
Yet our whole Christian walk is not passively waiting for God to tell us when to make the next move. We need to submit all our plans and purposes to His leading. When the Lord tells us to go, we are not to hesitate. Also we are not to wait in idle expectancy. This is what many Christians would like to believe, but we are to work as though this were our last day on earth, asking God to direct and guide us.
Some try to look for an easier way to heaven. Many Christians think that it is unnecessary to deny one’s self and keep the commandments. We will get to heaven if we only say that we love Jesus, we don’t need to prove it. There is no easier way other than overcoming sin. Every sin must be put away by the time the Latter Rain is poured out upon God’s people. Those that haven’t done this preparatory work will be shaken out from God’s church. There is even danger in God’s church of believing that Jesus doesn’t require real perfection, however Jesus did say, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” And I don’t see any sin in the Father, therefore we too must overcome all sin in order to be Christlike.
There is only one way, only one road. Jesus said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.” Matt. 7: 13.
“We are to do all that we can do on our part to fight the good fight of faith. We are to wrestle, to labour, to strive, to agonize, to enter in at the strait gate.” Faith and Works, p. 48.
“Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” Rev. 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The grief’s that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live.” DA, p.483.
“Men and women who profess to be disciples of Christ and to keep all the commandments of God will have to feel in their daily lives the true spirit of agonizing to enter in at the strait gate. The agonizing ones are the only ones who will urge their passage through the strait gate and narrow way that lead to life eternal, to fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Those who merely seek to enter in will never be able. The entire Christian life of many will be spent in no greater effort, than that of seeking, and their only reward will be to find it an utter impossibility for them to enter in at the strait gate.” T 2, p. 479/480.
“Be not discouraged; be not fainthearted. Although you may have temptations, although you may be beset by the wily foe, yet if you have the fear of God before you, angels that excel in strength will be sent to your help, and you can be more than a match for the powers of darkness. Jesus lives. He died to make a way of escape for the fallen race, and He lives today to make intercession for us, that we may be exalted to His own right hand. Hope in God.” T2, p. 591/592.
The Lord will never ask anything of you that it is impossible for you to do, while connected with Him. If He asks you to overcome every sin, He will make it possible to do so. It is we who are stubborn and uncooperative. We want to do things our way.
“Man is allotted a part in this great struggle for everlasting life; he must respond to the working of the Holy Spirit. It will require a struggle to break through the powers of darkness, and the Spirit works in him to accomplish this. But man is no passive being, to be saved in indolence. He is called upon to strain every muscle and exercise every faculty in the struggle for immortality; yet it is God that supplies the efficiency. No human being can be saved in indolence. The Lord bids us: ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate…'” 8 T, p.65.
Running ahead is always a concern for a Christian. Each of us must examine our motives before we act. By cultivating an attitude of patient waiting and looking to the Lord for guidance, we can give God control over the direction of our lives. We need to keep in step with God through daily submission of our plans and our hearts to Him, working diligently while we still have time to work.
There are no shortcuts to heaven. There is only one way and may God help us to find the way and prove faithful in this battle of life that we are in the midst of, that we may come off victorious when Jesus comes in the clouds of glory – a wonderful event that is not too far in the future. “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” Mark 13:33.
AMEN