The Joy of Delayed Gratification
Do not decorate the walls of this life when this world is not our home.
– Matt Fuller
As a 20 year old living in Sydney, the temptation to to be caught up in the business and craziness of life is so overwhelming. More than that, the want for instant gratification rules the every day in a nearly inescapable way. All our longings and desire, all our hopes and dreams, are to do with tomorrow. And it all comes down to the question: where will I find the next best thing to make me feel good?
This past week I was told a story about a man named Brian Telfer. For nearly all of his life, he was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. When he was drawing near to death, he called one of his sons to his side and asked this son to read him Isaiah 12.
For those of you who don’t know Isaiah 12 very well, it’s a small 6 verse chapter right at the end of a section where the prophet is talking about how on that final day God will restore the remenant of Israel to himself and all shall be made new.
I’ve been reflecting on the first two verses these past few days. They read:
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:1-2)
The “you” that Isaiah uses is in the first person! This means on that final day, I will be say those words. I will proclaim that God is my salvation. I will not be afraid for the LORD GOD, the creator of all of humanity, the creator of all things, is my strength. He is my song. He is enough to be all things for me.
I have this safe and secure hope that there will be fulfilment on that final day when nothing else compares. And I will eagerly wait in joyful anticipation, living out my life in honour of the God who turned away from His anger so that He may comfort me by being my strength and my song. The thought of knowing the peace and comfort that Christ will bring when He returns is all consuming, effecting my life down to the smallest part. There is so much joy in waiting for this delayed gratification.
Do you feel it too?
Amen.