“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26

It was dark as I pulled up behind the car at the red light. And by dark I mean that no headlights were coming from the south OR the north. There was not a car in sight! The ‘powers that be’ created a permissible rule for cases just like this. It’s referred to as ‘right on red.’ It basically gives permission to a driver to proceed through a red light, after stopping, if traffic is clear. And it was… CLEARLY!

When the horn is pressed on the steering wheel, it makes a sound. That is what it is SUPPOSED to do. The horn does not indicate emotion in any way. TOOT! It can be a notice, a warning or even a hello! Press…. TOOT! Setting at that dark light… waiting…with NO movement from the car in front of me, I gently pressed… toot. I guess what the woman, in the Volkswagen, in front of me, heard was… TOOT! Because she stuck out her arm and waved 1 finger at me!

How long does it take to murder someone? I mean really? I KNOW I have used the illustration before, but I haven’t graduated yet! Jesus says that when you call someone a ‘fool’ in anger, you are guilty of murder! In retrospect, I can tell you that the timing from a ‘finger to rage ‘can be measured in NANOseconds! Let’s just say, ‘Lightnin’ fast!’ But the reality of feeling like a jerk, exacerbated by the reaction of the woman setting beside me… my wife…lingers long! “WAY TO GO, PASTOR” she said! So I killed her too!

How long does it take to sin? We were all stuck at an impersonal red light. But within a second, EVERY ONE of us earned ‘Hell!’ It CAN debated as to who went first! But the end is the same! The woman in front of me had the RIGHT to go on red… but nothing says she HAD to exercise it. So I exercised MY right to ‘toot!’

“It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” That verse has a LOT packed into it. Most often, in man mode, I have a tendency to ‘rush loudly.’ But I am not alone! Lamentations was written by an unfortunate prophet named Jeremiah. He was stuck in History at a LANDSLIDE caused by the sin of the nation Israel. When God called him to go warn them, the Almighty threw in, “no one is going to listen to you!”

One man’s words against a nation, written down forever, can easily be picked apart. Jeremiah places blame on Israel, but doesn’t mind throwing a little dirt in God’s face. The surprise is that God let him! So WHO caused the suffering of Israel? Was it God? Jerry puts the blame on Him in Lamentations 1:12-13. Or was it Israel… like It says in Lamentations 4:13? Go ahead and look it up and see what YOU think.

I THINK the rightful response is that NONE of us have rights! I am not the creator, police, judge, jury or executioner. What I AM, is a man in a heap of trouble. But thankfully, this verse verifies that salvation is on the way! AND… that my case would be best served if I just sit at the light… quietly… and WAIT for it! Now…. can I?