Not many would deny that we are living in the age of the instant. We want everything now, and we’re not prepared to wait for it, whatever ‘it’ may be. In fact we’ve gone so far that it doesn’t even matter what ‘it’ may be anymore, we just know that we want ‘it’ and want ‘it’ now!

Sure, blame it on the frantic lifestyle lived by many because there’s not enough time in a day to get done everything that’s on the list, and so the answer for most is not to simplify things down but rather to complicate things up, and the great friend of the Mr Frenetic is the time saving advocate Mr Instant. Of course, everybody understands the pressure you’re under and will make allowances for times and opportunities missed, but the outcome of all of this is that we become enslaved to the unfinished task, deceived into thinking that Mr Instant is right, and denied the opportunity to discover who we really are, because our lives have become all about doing rather than about being.

Subtly our values begin to change, and our evaluation of who we are becomes distorted and unhealthy. One of the great dangers here is what happens when God steps onto the scene? What if God wants to slow things down but that doesn’t fit with our schedule. There’s no allowance for the process of the Lord within our lives. We’re concerned with getting things done, He’s concerned about raising His kids. We’re concerned about the external, He’s concerned about the internal, our paradigm is work brings results, His paradigm is relationships bear fruit. We want God to fit into our world, He wants us to enjoy His!

All this can lead to the “Instant Coffee” church or Christian. Place one teaspoon of granules into a cup, boil the kettle and pour water into cup, stir with spoon, add milk and sugar to taste. Forgive me if I sound derogatory, that’s not my intention, I love the local church. My point is this: We cannot approach the Lord or our Christianity in such a fashion and expect significant results, neither can we approach mission on the same basis, perhaps that’s why we don’t see more lasting fruit either in our personal lives or that of the church. There’s always a price to pay, and there’s always a process that God takes us through. If we want to share in the ministry of Jesus we must share in His suffering also. Ouch! What about Moses in the desert for forty years, or Noah who for one hundred years built an ark having never experienced rain.

Allow me to encourage you – what God really wants is not what you can do for Him, but what He can do and has already done for you. Sure, He wants us to accomplish and to succeed in life, but He knows that the greatest path to success is through Him. Ultimately, it’s not really about what we can do for Him, as without Him we can do nothing (John 15), but about what He can do through us. Imagine that, God wants to work through you. You never have to try anything in your own strength ever again, He wants His life, His Spirit to work within you and through to accomplish His plan and purpose for your life!