When
the Polaroid SX-70 camera was introduced in 1972, it revolutionized
photography. An article by Owen Edward in Smithsonian magazine described the
camera as “a miracle of physics, optics and electronics.” When a photo was
snapped, “a blank square would emerge from the front of the camera and develop
before our eyes.” People were sold on speedy, immediate results.
Oswald
Chambers saw a strong connection between our desire for the immediate and lust:
“Lust simply means, ‘I must have this at once’; it may be a bodily appetite or
a spiritual possession. . . . I cannot wait for God’s time, God is too
indifferent; that is the way lust works.”
In
Psalm 27, David wrote of his waiting on God during a time of great trouble when
there was no solution in sight. Instead of giving in to despair, he maintained
his confidence that he would “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living” (v.13).
We live in a world that worships the immediate. When it seems there is no sign of our deepest longings being fulfilled, the psalmist urges us to cling to the eternal God. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (v.14).
The answer to our craving for the immediate is to focus on the eternal. (RBC)
