Making A List

This post was originally published on December 6, 2013.
Due to an all-day power outage, a new Whisper was unable to be published for today.

You hear interesting things when you are doing your Christmas shopping.
You hear snippets of conversations that people are having with sales clerks.
You hear snippets of conversations that people are having with friends.
You hear snippets of conversations that people are having with someone on the phone.

I am not eavesdropping.
I am never around long enough to evenly remotely understand what is being said.
It is not my conversation.
Sometimes, I am stuck in the same location and I can’t help but hear.

There was one such conversation that I overheard.
I was on the toy aisle of a store.
A mother and child were going the opposite direction.
The child was animated and determined to get his point across.

You could tell by the tone that this child meant business.
The mother was trying not to laugh.
But I have to have it now! I need to see if it’s as good as they say it is.
I know it’s on my Christmas list, but if you get it now, I can take it off my list.

Thinking better of what he just proposed, he added one last thought.
I will put something else back on my list, since there should still be ten things!
The mother looked at me and smiled that kind of, What would you say to that, smile.
I had no words; I saw law school in this child’s future.

His arguments were laid out so well.
Why shouldn’t he have what he wants when he wants it?
If the mother really thought about it, she could relate to his argument.
We all could!

I have my list, God.
It is all laid out nicely for You.
I would like these five things in the near future, please.

We are never satisfied.
This child knew that something grand was coming in about a month’s time.
Why not have it now?
Calendars are to be written in pencil anyway.

We smile, but we do the same thing!
How can God really know what is good for me?
How can God’s timing be perfect?
My list will expire before He answers my prayers.

The problem is: it is my list, not His!
The things on my list are things that my finite mind thinks I should have.
The expiration date is one that I set without knowing all the facts.

The mother understood far better than her son why his every wish cannot be granted.
She is not a genie in a lamp and neither is God.
She handled her son so well; letting him talk until he tired of his argument.
He got distracted and moved on to something else.

What if she had indulged him?
What if she gave into his every wish?
The desired item would be ho-hum in no time because it was gotten so easily.
There was no anticipation, no waiting time; just instant gratification of a whim.

There is grace in waiting.
Often what we think we want is not in our best interest.
God knows that; His “No” to our request can be trusted.
God gives us what we need, not always what we want.

That is hard for us to fathom.
It was hard for the little boy in the toy aisle.
After he was all talked out, he could finally listen.
The little boy listened until something else distracted him.

Especially at this time of year, when we are so busy, we need time to be still.
We talk ourselves out; we shop ourselves out; we over-commit ourselves out!
When do we take the time to listen to the Whisper of God?
Everything else drowns God out; everything else competes and distracts.

God will be heard!
God could bellow from the heavens, but He whispers.
God could light up the sky and write His name in the stars.
Yet God quietly reveals Himself in His Word.

God has veto power over our lists.
His lists are so much better anyway!
We don’t even know what we should ask for; so we ask for everything.
Worldly everything that breaks, gets rusty, and loses its appeal after a while.

God’s list has one thing on it.
Himself.
He is all we ever need; He is all we ever want.
Whether we think so or not.

Check your list.
Check it twice.
Is it in line with God’s will?
If it is, He will give you the desire of your heart because it is also the desire of His heart.

Yet, I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73: 23-26)