Skip to main content

Open Immediately

The envelope had a specific command prominently printed on the outside.  It said “Open Immediately”.

Immediately normally means now or without waiting; without interval of time.

The envelope also had a company name prominently printed on the outside.  It was “Endurance”.

Endurance normally is the ability to sustain a prolonged effort or activity; the ability to keep doing something difficult, unpleasant, or painful for a long time.

There are times when we want God to respond immediately, as without interval of time:

“But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!”  (Ps 22:19).

And there are other times when we are glad that God responds slowly, as in sustained over a long time:

 “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Ex 34:6)

Intentional or not, the printing on that envelope was a contradiction in terms, also known as an oxymoron.  An oxymoron is defined as something that has incongruous or contradictory elements. 

We can be very glad and so very grateful that God never acts in contradictory or incongruous ways:

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”  (Num 23:19)

 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”  (James 1:17)

For the record, I wasn’t moved by the command to “Open Immediately”.

But I was bemused by the incongruity of it all!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stouthearted!

Steve the Stouthearted; it has a nice medieval ring to it, maybe even middle earth overtones.  I noticed that word “stouthearted” recently in Psalm 138, verse 3:   “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.”   (NIV, 1973) The word stouthearted is used in the Bible to describe individuals who exhibit courage, determination, and resilience, often in the face of adversity or opposition. This characteristic is seen as a virtue, reflecting steadfastness in faith and purpose. The stouthearted are those who remain firm in their convictions and are not easily swayed by fear or doubt (from The Bible Hub website). And yet to be bold and stouthearted for most is not something that just comes naturally, we need the Lord to make us bold and stouthearted.   And, from the verse above, it appears that he does so in response to us calling on him.   So it probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that those who have been made bold and stouth...
Post a Comment
Read more