Head & Shoulders

My son cannot reach the shampoo in the shower. We keep it in one of the caddies that hang over the showerhead, and as tall as he is, his six-year-old body can’t quite stretch that far. If he gets in the shower before I get the shampoo down, it’s not long before he is calling, “Mooooommmmy! I can’t reach the shampooooo,” in his loudest sing-song voice.

Whenever he calls, I always answer with, “Hold on, I’m coming,” no matter where I am in the house. But it never fails, before I can get there, I hear again, “Mooooommmmy! I can’t reach the shampoooooo!” If I’m all the way downstairs the first time he calls, I usually get to hear him bellow three or four times before I get to the bathroom. Whenever I get there, I say the same thing, “Colin, there was no need to keep yelling. I told you to hold on, that I was coming.” And each time he replies the same, “Oh, I didn’t hear you.”

As soon as my son called, I began my journey through the house, but first I ran into my daughter – who asked me to turn on cartoons. And get juice. And give her a kiss. This reminds me of Daniel. He prayed to gain insight about the future of the Israelite people. Instantly, God dispatched an angel to speak to Daniel. Yet the Bible tells us the Prince of Persia hindered the angel from getting to Daniel.

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Daniel 10:12-13 NIV

The Prince of Persia is described as a fallen angel who works for Satan. I can’t tell you how many times I have shouted out for God in a time of need. And if He doesn’t come quickly, I keep on shouting, getting louder and louder. “Goooooooood! I neeeeeeed youuuuuuuu!” I call from my praying spot. I wonder how many of those times when I complained about God not showing up on my timetable, He was behind the scenes working out details or fighting off the bad guys.

Like Colin, I often get impatient when I don’t see immediate results. And like Colin, when my Heavenly Parent shows up and says, “I was coming all the time,” I say, “Oh, I didn’t hear you.” Have you been shouting for the Savior? Is there something just out of reach? Let’s make a pact together to wait patiently next time for the shampoo. We’ll be Head & Shoulders above the rest. He really is coming. Believe it!