Quick Fix

Did you know that the Subway restaurant chain has a yearly competition known as "Sub Jamming"?  In this, employees from all over gather together and compete to make  (correctly and to exact formula) a 12-inch sub sandwich as quickly as possible.  Not just to toss the ingredients on the bread, oh no, they start with the piece of bread, add all ingredients, wrap and then bag it, ready to go out the door.  Here is the kicker for you:  if you cannot do it in less than 40 seconds, you won't even be there unless you are cheering on a co-worker.  I do not know about you, but I cannot make a peanut butter sandwich in less than 40 seconds let alone anything fancier.

While the "sub jammers" speed is a bit impressive, the fact that it is done should be no big shocker to anyone.  After all, we do live in a day and age in which "instant gratification" is the name of the game - we want what we want and we want it now.  On demand TV gives us whatever programming we want all but instantly.  High speed internet is always getting faster and still we tend to want more speed - like the 3 seconds we wait for our Facebook page to load is a forever.  Instant food of all varieties has become the norm.  Quick fix diets to get us ready for "swim suit season" taking the place of the slow and steady diet/lifestyle choices we know are the better route.  Let's face it, slow and steady may win the race but for the most part, we would rather just be teleported (via Star Trek transporter) to the end right off the get go.

Problem is when it comes to those things of the spirit and the heart, God still very much believes in the slow and steady over the instantaneous.  See, there is a point to this.

Chances are, if you are a believer, you have at some point in time prayed for change.  Something you have seen within yourself - whether behavior, habit or thought pattern - has bothered you to see it there as a part of you and you have wanted it gone.  Now in the defense of most of us, when we ask for it to be gone or changed and we say something to the extent of "not caring how long it takes or what we have to do", we do mean it at the time.  But...

"The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." ~ Matthew 26:41

On occasion, God does create within us an instant change.  Sometimes we are healed of whatever or delivered from any number of things including addictions on the spot.  Which, for the record, is cool as all get out.  But that is not exactly the norm now is it?

Romans 12:2 says "be transformed by the renewing of your mind".

Did you know that a butterfly is not merely a flying caterpillar?  That when the time is right, the lowly caterpillar forms its' cocoon and basically, dissolves.  It becomes goo.  The butterfly which emerges is a completely different creature than what went into it.  Pretty cool really.  And a great image for our lives if one thinks about it especially in terms of 2 Cor.5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

The caterpillar does not force itself to change nor can it do anything to speed that process up any.  It takes time and when the exact right amount of it has passed, it has been done and done right and the butterfly emerges and take flight.

God is not merely content to cover up or mask our various issues, flaws and deep seeded pains.  Instead, He wants to get to the root of them.  To heal and remove the underlying cause, not merely mask the symptom.  But this can take time.  Especially since we tend to shrink back when things get uncomfortable.  When we are made to peer intently into the mirror and see our reflection staring back at us.  When we have to see our past.  When we must honestly view our very own thoughts and realize that many of those flaws we see in others exist full blown within ourselves as well.

Let's be honest, we do not like being uncomfortable nor do we like pain.  It is painful after all, right?  (am at least that coherent - I did have a coffee this morning).  And unfortunately, when we see the waves (much like Peter did in Matthew 14:28-30), we get scared.  Worst case scenarios fill our minds and we shrink back.  Those things which seem to have been delivering the greatest results, we turn away from.

Why can't you just "make" me happy right now?  Why can't you just "force me" to trust people?  "Make" me honestly forgive others...

Technically, He could.  He is God after all, He does have the power to do so.  But to force - against your will (you are unwilling to continue after all) - is against His character and that He cannot do.  God can be no One other than God.  He never changes.  Lot of comfort in that really.

You know, a guy could probably do a novel on this topic.  I suspect many have before, and many more may do so again.  But I am not writing to tell you what it is you (probably) already know.  I am not writing because I read a book about it or some inspiring devotional or just learned about the gooey caterpillar thing (have known that for a bit now).  This is so you know that you are not alone.

If you have prayed for change and have shrunk back when things started to get uncomfortable, do not beat yourself up over it.  None of us like pain and we all tend to like being comfortable over the other option.  None of us, self included, like to admit that we have flaws and short comings, but we do.  We are human.  We have lived our lives in a world  which has taught us so many less than good things and has caused us no shortage of pain.  But the change "is" worth it.  God will not force you.  His patience is well beyond anything we can fathom.  Which is a really, really good thing because, I do not know about you, but I can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

So what do we do when it seems like things may be starting to get a bit more difficult than we would like?  Well, consider the splinter.  Would you rather put up with it or get it out and over with?  Probably the latter.

Pray.  Hold true to the course you are on.  He will not leave you when you need Him the most.  Nor will He take you anyplace you cannot handle with Him.  He knows your limitations far better than you do and His love for you is beyond measure.  He leads you there because He does not want to see you go through the same struggles over and over.

You may still want your sub sandwich in less than 40 seconds, but when it comes to matters of the spirit and the heart - say no to the quick fix of a mask and go for the real thing.