Matthew 4:5-6

It was a cloudy day as Duke’s football team was getting ready for the game when a parachute jumper landed on the field with the football to start the game. It was a perfect landing, and the fans cheered. The problem was that the jumper had landed in the wrong stadium; he was supposed to be at UNC a short distance away. Of course, I love this story!

“Look before you leap and think before you speak” are words of good advice for all of us. When we jump into something too fast, we may find ourselves landing in the wrong place.
The devil did his best to get Jesus to take a shortcut to His throne: “Win the crowd’s approval by doing something spectacular and avoid the cost of suffering on a cross.” God’s approval, not the popularity of the crowd, is the only way to land safely in the Father’s will. Jesus knew that and prayerfully kept His focus on the work He came to do.

John Wesley once wrote, “Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.” That is a spiritual discipline that we all need: To know the urgency of sharing the Good News of Jesus without rushing ahead of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us that everything is to be done God’s way and in His time.

It is not failure that we should fear. Rather, we should fear having success in things that will not have mattered at the end of the day. “Watch and pray” are the words of our Lord. If we do, we will be less likely to land in the wrong place.

“If I can do my duty as a Christian ought
If I can bring back beauty to a world up wrought,
If I can spread love’s message that the Master taught,
Then my living shall not be in vain!”