You Took Too Long!

Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 13:5-14

Marie studied the instructions for how to cook a meal over a campfire, the final project in her club manual. It didn’t seem too hard.

“Hold on!” Mom called. “I’ll be right down!”

Marie waited impatiently. Finally, she headed out the door. I’ll just get everything set up, she thought.

In the backyard, Marie got busy arranging sticks for the fire. She set the hotdogs and marshmallows in the folding chair and searched her bag for the matches. Ah yes—she’d left them on the counter.

Running back inside, she called to Mom again. “Are you ready, Mom?”

“Just about!”

Sighing, she grabbed the matches and dashed back outside. Glancing at the house, she wondered if Mom would care if she just went ahead without her. Starting a fire can’t be that hard, she thought. She carefully tore out a match and struck it.

It didn’t work. She tossed the match into the pile of sticks and tried again. This time a flame flickered, but it blew out instantly.

Again and again she tried. Each time, the match burned out too soon.

Marie stomped to the garage. She knew what would make the fire burn.

She was lugging the gas can to the backyard just as Mom came out. “Marie Katelyn! What do you think you’re doing?”

Marie let the can drop. “The fire won’t start! You wouldn’t come, so…”

Mom gave her a look. “I was coming. I told you to wait. You could have set yourself on fire with that gas!”

In almost no time, Mom had helped Marie start a nice little fire. “Marie, you’ve got to learn to wait. The best things in life can become disasters when we refuse to wait for the right time to do them. Remember when we read about King Saul’s impatience? Instead of trusting God’s timing, He disobeyed Samuel and took matters into his own hands, and he lost his kingdom because of it. Jesus wants us to trust and obey our leaders—like our parents—even when their timing is different from ours. Trust Him to give you patience so you can obey Him—and me!” – Rebekah Love Dorris

How About You?

Have you ever found yourself jumping ahead of your leaders when they seem too slow? It can be difficult to be patient when parents or teachers tell us to wait for something we want, but it’s important to obey them. When we trust them, we show that we trust God too. Trust Jesus to give you patience so you can enjoy the blessings He has for you at just the right time.

Today’s Key Verse: Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Trust and obey your leaders