Redeeming the Time

I'm a suburb boy by birth and, growing up, I always lived close to mountains of some kind. Imagine the shock when our family first moved to Bangkok, Thailand - a concrete jungle of 11 million people! After a few weeks in the city, I finally figured out how to get my driver's license and I started using our truck to get around. It wasn't long before most of my time in the truck was spent frustrated and angry because of the horribly congested and completely unpredictable traffic.

I remember a few times, 45 minutes into what could have been a 15 minute drive, thinking of all the places I could travel in 45 minutes or less from my previous homes in Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky, and Malaysia. Mountaintops, the Appalachian Trail, scenic lakes, and beautiful beaches all came to mind. Here, there are times when I can't even get to the main road in less than 45 minutes! Discontentment and mini pity parties started creeping into my heart and mind.

Thankfully, God transformed my driving time through the ministry of John Piper. All 27 years of Piper's sermons are available for free download as .mp3 files from the Desiring God website. One luxury that is common in Bangkok is high-speed Internet. I quickly downloaded all of the sermons in the Romans series to that date (about 150 messages) and had my parents send me one of those cassette tape adapters that let me plug the car stereo into the headphone jack on my mp3 player. All of a sudden, I found myself hoping that a particular drive would last a few more minutes so I could finish listening to a particular sermon. Sometimes, people would catch me sitting in the parking lot at the office, unwilling to wait before hearing the end of a message!

In Romans 5:15-16 we read,

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

Paul also reminds us in Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (4:4). He then shares that he has 'learned in whatever situation [he is] to be content" (4:11).

Do I still experience times of frustration due to traffic jams? Unfortunately the answer is yes, sometimes. However, I praise God that I can sincerely say that there are many times when I rejoice in the midst of a traffic jam, perfectly content with the situation!