'Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz, all my friends drive Porsches, I must make amends...' words from the song 'Mercedes Benz' (1970) by Janis Joplin. Two days after recording this song, on October 3rd, she died,'chasing the dragon' which ultimately killed her at 27.
I had a birthday recently. Birthdays not only remind you that you are a year older but also about that Mercedes Benz.
Birthdays call for introspection. What did I accomplish on this trip around the sun? What did I change about myself? How much did I grow? Did I complete the things on my bucket list?
Did I get that 'Mercedes Benz' that I have been praying for?
If you aren't careful, and the answers to those questions are in the negative, you could find yourself chasing your own demons.
'...Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, so Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz.'
That thing you have been asking the Lord for, that Mercedes Benz, that dream job, that husband, that lost family member- that thing that your friends have but you don't? That Mercedes Benz! While this song was not a prayer and was more tongue in cheek, doesn't it speak to those silent, unspoken conversations that you have with God? Those times when you are waiting on Him, those times when you see birthdays come, and birthdays go and you realize 365 days have past and your hand is still outstretched- waiting?
Maybe you aren't like me, maybe you aren't tired of waiting, maybe you aren't tired of hearing 'but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.' ( Isaiah 40:31). Maybe you aren't tired to have your wings folded, hidden, unused. What good is a bird who cant sing or a butterfly without wings? If I got that Mercedes Benz right now, I'd be ready, 'ready like Freddy' as we say in Jamaica but....is it just a matter of the driver's license?
What do you do when you've asked for that Mercedes Benz? You know you can drive it, you think you are ready but God says 'No!' not yet my child, you are not quite where I want you to be.
Well you could agree with Him and wait..
Or
You could go chasing dreams down wide open spaces where life goes to die.
The thing about having free will is- the choice is yours.
Waiting is hard. I hate to wait. I sigh when I wait, I cry when I wait. Waiting frustrates me, especially when my friends drive Porsches, but I wait.
The world says I am crazy, I should push past the crowd, network, get worth, kick down the doors you have been knocking so politely on...but God says if you wait on me- you shall be truly free.
Related readings: 1 Corinthians 3;19, Philippians 4:11, Psalm 130:5, Psalm 27:14
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