OLDER THAN SLICED BREAD
Recently I made a shocking discovery. My father is actually older than sliced bread. Sliced bread debuted on July 7, 1928. On Monday, July 6, we celebrated my dad’s 98th birthday, which makes him older than sliced bread … by one day.
Sliced bread stands as a metaphor for excellence. Ever hear, “That’s the best thing since sliced bread?” It strikes me as ironic. My father was alive prior to this social phenomenon.
Time is a strange entity. We can’t exist without it, but it’s of no significance to God. Second Peter 3:8 observes, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” God operates outside the realm of time. He’s not handcuffed by time, as we are.
Maybe that explains a few things, such as, why God takes so long to answer our prayers. Why He seemingly leaves us stranded in difficult situations, without instantly freeing us. Sometimes God moves painstakingly slowly in advancing us from point A to point B. Instead, he meanders us through points X, Y, and Z before we finally arrive at point B.
The Israelites discovered this. Exodus 13:17 states when they left Egypt, “God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.” The route from Egypt to Canaan was only a nine-day trip. Instead God led them on a forty-year journey through the wilderness. Why? The next sentence tells us they weren’t ready to face the enemies. If you’d asked them if they were ready for the challenges ahead, they probably would’ve replied, “Absolutely!” But God knew better, just as he does with our spiritual development.
The next time you buy a loaf of sliced bread, think about the difference between our perspective of time and God’s. And praise Him that he often moves slower than we wish.
Ponder:
When have you experienced God leading you in a zig-zag route instead of leading you directly from point A to point B?
What did you learn from this experience?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Exodus 13:17-22
Heavenly Father, thank you for sometimes leading me on the most indirect route on my journey through life. I trust you, and am confident you will only do what is best for me.
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Photo courtesy of National Museum of American History