Wait For One Another
While writing this book, I continually asked the Lord to help me experience the truths of the One Anothers and to understand each of them in a deeper way than I had before. I vividly remember the day he taught me about Wait for One Another.
I took a small group of friends to see the sights and sounds of New York City. There’s a lot to see in the big apple, so each day’s itinerary was well orchestrated and full. Walking is the preferred mode of transportation there if you’re traveling fewer than twenty blocks. So on the first day we walked from one place to the next, maintaining a quick pace as we went.
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| Photo Credit: Julio Cortez/AP Photo |
One member of our group, an older lady, had trouble keeping the pace, so she and her daughter would inevitably lag behind the group and we would need to stop and wait for them to catch up. I confess I became irritated at the constant delays, thinking, This isn’t fair. We have a lot to see and do, and one slow person should not limit the pace of the entire group.
The lady and her daughter became exasperated by the pressure to keep up the group’s pace. She finally said, “Don, we just can’t keep up. you’re going too fast. Just go on without us.” Immediately, I sensed that I had violated the Lord’s directive to Wait for One Another, so I slowed down, and for the rest of the trip we adopted her pace.
When we Wait for One Another, we relinquish our own pace, agenda and strengths and yield to others. And in our struggle to Wait for One Another, we will encounter an ugly vice called impatience. The opposite of impatience is, of course, patience, which is a godly virtue.
• Ephesians 4:2 simply says, “Be patient.”
• First Corinthians 13:4 uses the word to help define what love is – “Love is patient.”
• Galatians 5:22 states that patience is a fruit of the Spirit; when he controls our lives, we will be patient.
• First Thessalonians 5:14 teaches that this grace gift is to be exercised toward all, “Be patient with everyone.” We can’t pick and choose with whom we will be patient.
• Galatians 5:22 states that patience is a fruit of the Spirit; when he controls our lives, we will be patient.
• First Thessalonians 5:14 teaches that this grace gift is to be exercised toward all, “Be patient with everyone.” We can’t pick and choose with whom we will be patient.
As you enter this holiday season with family and friends, you may be called upon more than once to wait on others - physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually.
