REALLY WAITING FOR GODOT?

Godot never will come!

Samuel Beckett wrote this tragicomedy in June 1996, about two characters who wait for Godot. And when Alan Schneider, a reporter, who anxiously asked him about the identity of Godot, Beckett replied: “If I know, I would have said so in the play.”

Ironically, right up to the end of the 2 Act play Godot remains a mysterious figure. If we regard ‘Waiting for Godot’ as Christian play or a Morality play, Godot may stand for God. But no one tells us that in the play.

Like I said before, Godot will never come, but Jesus will! And when Jesus comes, will He find you walking in His will?

Good question.

I was sitting in this elaborate, musty smelling, office on the third floor of a rather noisy and busy building.

Alongside me were many young men, my age, also sitting and waiting, like me.

The sounds coming from the open windows was jarring with machines, power hammers and men mingled together in a strange very unmusical way.

The building was in the Mazagon Docks, the largest shipbuilding company in India. And I was waiting for an interview with Senior Navy personnel to get into studying Marine Engineering Technology.

I passed the interview and was chosen to become a Marine Engineer and travel the world.

But within two weeks, I changed my mind!

I registered in a Mechanical Engineering Course, near my home and started to study in earnest. Later I got a job designing gear systems for cranes and a host of transmission machines.

After a few years, I met my beautiful wife, got married…and within two months of our marriage, I changed my mind again!

I left my job and joined the full-time ministry to serve God all my life. That was more than 43 years ago! Since then, I haven’t changed my mind on anything else.

Let me share something so important, especially to a younger generation on the cusp of choosing, careers, life partners and jobs.

The choices we make have a major impact on the life we live. Your life is a result of the choices you make. Remember, in ten years’ time, you will eventually become someone you desired to be. Whether for good or for bad. And here is the truth…the further you go in life, the harder it becomes to turn back and change things all over.

We live in a world where decisions and choices matter so much. When we were small, our parents made the choices, but since we are grown-ups, our choices matter so much. Not only for us, but also the people who are closely around us.

So, here’s some small titbits of advice, from a guy who’s ‘been there, done that’.

Learn to hear the voice of God.

God taught Bev and I how to hear His voice, and be led of the Holy Spirit, the two most important aspects if you desire to make choices. Prophetic dreams and voices will come as you trust the local church and those intercessors that uphold you.

When you make decisions, always keep in mind, that values matter.

Make decisions that are consistent with your personal core beliefs and values. When you follow the Bible, draw your core beliefs from there. Your ability to hear God will eventually give you success. The alternative invariably leads to regret.

Also, make it a point to always learn from the past.

Learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others. Make sure you identify situations where you’ve had a similar choices in the past. It is here that mentors and ‘fathers’ can play an immense role in your life, as you take fresh steps. Remember it is not so easy to accommodate change.

Quickly learn what you don’t know.

Don’t try to be an expert in everything. As you seek input and advice when variables lie outside your comfort zone, learn to pray and seek the Lord at all times.

In closing let me say this…there is no ‘perfect’ decision. But you will learn to submit to the Voice of the Father, and as you do, He will teach you all things. So don’t demand perfection.

The philosopher Voltaire warned against letting the ‘perfect be the enemy of the good’. That advice still holds true today.

Learn to work in partnership with God Himself.

Once you make a decision, don’t look back, make it work. Usually people with ‘plan B’ are people who are not sure with themselves.

While there is nothing wrong about doing everything you can to achieve your goals, the greater truth is that your life really depends on hearing God and walk in His will. It is tiring to face the challenges of life on your own might alone. If you do so, it will exhaust you in every way: physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually.

As Christians we should not fall into the kind of temptation, where we trying to be strong using our own power and ability. We should only and always be strong in the Lord.

In the Greek Language, “be strong” in the Lord means “to keep being empowered or strengthened”. Its Greek word does not mean being strong in one’s own strength. The strength here is “being empowered” which means there is an outside factor causing another to be strong.

Ephesians 6:10 makes it clearer for us. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”.

Make the right choices on a daily basis so that you may live a genuine life that is true to who you want to be.

Many people are waiting for that mystical bubble to appear over them and carry them away into a world of success and good living. It never works that way.

Godot will never come!

 Shalom.