FAITH: Finding that maturity in Christ and in life

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. — Psalm 34:10

I was watching a video the other day of some lions hunting in Africa. The video really spoke to my heart about life and being impetuous. These young lions were waiting in ambush and broke free and rushed their prey way too soon, and of course, the race was on, and the prey got away. The young lions were going to go hungry, except the old lions, the mature lions, waited patiently as the next herd of animals came by and long story short, they ate well that night.

I remember years ago, I was up turkey hunting in the Ochocos, and I had a gobbler coming in. I didn’t have a very good field of view, so I decided to move to a better spot, just a few feet over, not much but still. Well, my tag went unfilled that year. As turkeys have very keen eyesight, they somehow saw my movement and that was that.

Funny how young people can’t wait to grow up, and old people want to be young again. Job 12:12 says wisdom comes with age. The King James version says with the ancient – that rubs the wrong way. Many other versions say elderly – that doesn’t sit very well either. But I do know that today, I have a lot more patience than I did 20 years ago, although I’ve not mastered the art of patience. I have learned when I have a gobbler coming to sit still and not move.

Funny how we look at our earthly kingdom, and we have so many wants, so many desires and we want it all now. So, we finance this or that, going into debt and living way beyond our means. We have what we want, maybe, but can do nothing with it because we can’t afford to go play. We have to pay the finance company, Gees, Catch 22. If we would learn to wait, mature, things might come a little slower, but we can enjoy them, too.

I’ve seen the same thing in ministry or church life. People want to jump out there and do everything now, right now. But they have little or no foundation behind them. And the “old folks,” well they just don’t get it – or do they? While I might not like the wording “wisdom is with the ancient,” the fact is we learn or at least we should learn from life and life experiences. It takes time. I am not a cook. Everyone who knows me knows I’m not a cook. So, occasionally I decide to cook breakfast for my wife. I’m sure she cringes, but I’ll be at the stove cooking the eggs and she will come along and turn the burner down. “Honey, it might take a little longer, but your eggs won’t have that lace around the edges or that burnt look and smell.” So, I’ve tried to learn to turn the burner down. I’ve gotten better, but don’t hire me as your chef!

God know what your needs are, and He wants to meet your needs. We learn that in

Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Sometimes, we confuse needs and wants. Sometimes, knowing the difference comes with time, with age. “I need another bowl of ice cream,” really is, “I want another bowl of ice cream, and I didn’t need the first bowl.” We are not promised that we will get everything we want, but we are promised to have our needs met. If we can look past the physical, the carnal side of our lives and look into the Spiritual, then we might just see a little more clearly.

My goal is to be the mature lion, and when I see the young lion going without, going hungry, maybe I can use my experience to help him learn how to wait until supper gets closer before I spring out and try to grasp it.