No More Drive-Throughs!

No more drive-throughs — that is the declaration Pastor Carolyn Wagner makes in this powerful devotional on patience, faith, and waiting on God.

The earliest drive-through services where customers could pick-up their food orders from the convenience of their cars began around 1947 in Springfield, Missouri, at “Red’s Giant Hamburg.” Shortly after that a drive-through with an intercom service was introduced by “In-N-Out Burger” (1948) in Baldwin Park, California. Throughout the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s these drive-through services grew in popularity throughout the USA.

It is my belief that with the advent of these drive-throughs, a new level of impatience among people was also introduced. There was a new level of expectation to obtain expeditiously whatsoever was wanted or desired! I’m certain you’ve noticed it as well- people looking at their watches- honking- yelling- etc.

if they believe they have been sitting too long in any drive-through!! And unfortunately, this type of thinking has crept into the belief systems of the followers of Jesus!

When Faith Becomes a Drive-Through

We pray, and in the blink of an eye or the snap of a finger, we expect our prayers to be answered. We are believing God for a breakthrough but what we really want is a drive-through experience.

But truly, if we want a breakthrough, we are going to have to “go through.” If you have walked with the Lord for any length of time at all, then you may have already realized that with God, it’s all about “the wait.”

You see, it is during the times of waiting that our faith grows stronger, and our roots grow deeper. We learn to trust God because He who promised is faithful!

If we take a walk down the faith “Hall of Fame” as recorded in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 — read it at BibleGateway.com — we see that God’s great people waited for their promises to come to pass.

There. Was. Always. A. “Wait”. And while we are waiting, God is also waiting. He is waiting to see how our attitudes are. And that’s not all. He is waiting to see if we will keep believing Him even though we are not seeing even a cloud the size of a man’s hand.

He is waiting to see if we will adjust our motives, and whether or not our hearts are pure before Him. Yes, He is watching and He is patient. He is waiting to see if we can trust His timing, because after all, His timing is always perfect. Truly, He is an “on time” God.

No More Drive-Throughs — Embracing the Wait

So, perhaps it is time for us to abandon our drive-through mentalities when it comes to the things of the Lord. Let us learn to embrace “the wait,” and instead, embrace the God of love who has our best interests at heart at all times. Father knows best.

Today I am declaring, “no more drive-throughs!” How about you? And if you’re not quite “there” yet, God will be found still waiting on you.

If this resonated with you, learn more about Pastor Carolyn’s coaching and ministry.