| Escapement by Cathy Vinson |
|
If we
listen, we will at times realize a tension within. Like a clock, "you wind the spring
up tight. The spring wants to unwind all at once, of course. But the escapement holds it
back, letting it unwind one little notch at a time." We desperately want things to
happen; we want a quicker course for the Spirit of God as He winds through our lives.
"SEE how the farmer waits." Patience is a fruit. It not only leads to a valuable
crop, it is the produce itself. The farmer not only looks for the valuable crop, he is
also patient with the autumn and spring rains that will bring the fruit forth (vs 5:7).
What is required of us? The escapement of patience. How difficult, especially when this
means planting your feet "in the face of suffering" (vs 9), planting your feet
in unpleasant surroundings.
Waiting and trials can seem harder and longer each cycle they come, but the glory is
growing. "You HAVE SEEN what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of
compassion and mercy. We consider happy the man who perseveres" (vs 1).
God is working the good fruit of a clock escapement into our souls, though they are wound
tightly. The escapement will help us keep His time. The pace slackens, we quicken and must
then agree again to submit to the pace of God.
The art of waiting seems all but lost in a credit-driven society. Patience, nevertheless,
will be a requirement of those who wish to be His followers. |
