How I Hate the “Mean Times”

There are a lot of popular phrases in our culture.  

The phrase “in the meantime” is one such phrase which is used in place of other phrases such as “while I am waiting”, or “until I see breakthrough”, or how about “until my ship comes in”.  I particularly like the phrase “in the meantime” because it hints to the state of mind we often find ourselves in and the attitude we are displaying while we are waiting. 

Just recently, while waiting to be checked in to a hotel where I was staying, I had the misfortune of being second in line when there was only one clerk on duty.  You might think that second in line sounds pretty good, except I had walked up ten seconds behind a guy who had already checked in but had found out some bad news that would require him to continue on his journey instead of enjoying a nice night’s rest.  Well, the clerk was new at his job and was unsure of how to process the refund which necessitated four different phone calls to other off-duty clerks who had no more clue how to proceed than he did.  After what seemed like an eternity (which was only about 25 minutes), I stepped up to the counter and checked into the hotel without incident but with a bit of an attitude, if I‘m being totally transparent here.  The wait had nearly killed me.  My luggage was heavy and awkward, and my mood had shifted from one of expectancy too that of a medieval martyr.  I had, after all, suffered “in the meantime”.

The scripture gives us a promise about the mean times.  Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  If I had patiently endured this horrible hardship (waiting in the line, that is), I would have had the assurance of being rewarded in some way for my patience, but instead the only reward I ended up with was the hit of dopamine I got for pitying myself throughout the event and for a few moments after.

Well, I don’t have to tell you that there are far worse “mean times” than the one I recounted here.  Tragedy, oppression, job loss, and extended illness are not foreign to most of us.  My family is currently going through a little “mean time” of our own, waiting on the next ministry opportunity to occur.  You apply, wait, and then maybe receive a rejection letter or two for months until a door opens that no man can shut, and you walk through it into the next part of your destiny.

The trick to the mean times, as I am learning, is not to focus on the mean or the time, but to focus on our Lord.  “We are fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  Hebrews 12:2 

An old song I sang in church when I was growing up is a frequent reminder to me of this concept.  It went something like, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”  Unfortunately, the reverse is true- that when our focus is on our hardship, our view of the Lord grows strangely dim.  Let me encourage you by trying to be a real as I can.  When I spend time trying to grow in my relationship with the Lord, it’s a lot easier to “suffer through” the mean times.  But when I spend my time on my own pursuits without first taking time to foster the most important relationship in my life, then things can get ugly.  Take time today to talk to Jesus, ponder what He is up to in your life, and imagine what good things He has in store.  It will make the “mean times” a little easier to navigate.

Oh, and one last thing.  When I exited the line at the hotel, I realized that there were a dozen other people behind me.  I guess the two-fold message is that others have it worse than I do and that they are watching to see what kind of attitude I am developing in the process.