Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with the admonition to “be still, be patient, and wait on the Lord. ” We are given a beautiful picture of patient trust in our Lord during our seasons of trials and searching for direction.
There is a very special relationship between the trapeze artists known as the flyer and the catcher. As the flyer is swinging high above the crowd, the moment comes when he lets go of the trapeze and arcs high into the air. For that moment, which must seem like an eternity, the flyer is suspended in nothingness. It is too late to reach back and too soon to be grasped by the catcher. In that moment, his job is to be still and as motionless as he can.
The fiyer must never try to catch the catcher. He must wait in absolute trust. The catcher will catch him, but he must wait. His job is not to flail about in anxiety and fear. In fact if he does, it could result in serious injury or death. His job is to wait. And to wait is the hardest work of all.
I am a doer. I like to make things happen. I find it very hard to wait. Too often, I find myself flailing about, demanding that the Lord work things out on my timetable and agenda. I am thankful that He has been patient and longsuffering in my moments of immaturity and self-righteousness. It is only through His mercy that I haven’t hit the ground with a thud. “Lord, I really do want to fly. Forgive me of my fear and my hanging on to stuff that really isn’t important. Thanks for catching me, even when I flail.”
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).
D.W. McLendon
Eastern Hills Church of Christ
Marshall, TX
Bulletin Digest (January 2005)