A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster.

片刻忍耐可免更大的灾难。

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Psalm 37:7

你当默然倚靠耶和华，耐性等候祂。-诗篇37篇7节

On January 28, 1986, after five weather-related delays, the space shuttleChallenger lumbered heavenward amid a thunderous overture of noise and flame. A mere 73 seconds later, system failure tore the shuttle apart, and all seven crewmembers perished.

在1986年1月28日，挑战者号太空船在五次延迟发射后，终于在巨响与火焰的震撼序曲中，轰隆隆直上云霄。但仅仅73秒后，太空船就因故障而解体，七名太空人全数罹难。

The disaster was attributed to an O-ring seal known to have vulnerabilities. Insiders referred to the fatal mistake as “go fever”—the tendency to ignore vital precautions in the rush to a grand goal.

Focusing on God brings courage tempered with His wisdom.

导致灾难的原因，是早已有瑕疵的零件发生了故障，而内部人士则将致命的错误归咎于「前进的狂热」，意指人们在急欲达成远大的目标时，而对关键性的预警置之不理。

Our ambitious human nature relentlessly tempts us to make ill-advised choices. Yet we are also prone to a fear that can make us overly cautious. The ancient Israelites demonstrated both traits. When the 12 scouts returned from spying out the Promised Land, 10 of the 12 saw only the obstacles (Num. 13:26-33). “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are,” they said (v. 31). After a fearful rebellion against the Lord that led to the death of the 10 spies, the people suddenly developed a case of “go fever.” They said, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised” (14:40). Without God, the ill-timed invasion failed miserably (vv. 41-45).

人类天生的野心不断地诱使我们一意孤行，而另一方面我们也很容易因恐惧而过度谨慎。古时以色列人就展现出这两种特质。当12名探子窥探应许地之后，其中10人的眼中只看到困难 （民数记13章26-33节） 。他们报告说：「我们不能上去攻击那民，因为他们比我们强壮」 （31节） 。然而，在因悖逆上帝遭惩罚，导致10名探子死亡后，民众突然又产生了一股「前进的狂热」。他们说：「我们……情愿上耶和华所应许的地方去」 （14章40节） 。然而，没有上帝的同在，这次时机错误的出击最终以悲剧收场（41-45节） 。

When we take our eyes off the Lord, we’ll slide into one of two extremes. We’ll impatiently rush ahead without Him, or we’ll cower and complain in fear. Focusing on Him brings courage tempered with His wisdom.

若不定睛于上帝，我们就容易陷入两种极端：要么没有上帝同在就急躁地往前冲，要么因惧怕而畏畏缩缩、满腹牢骚。定睛仰望上帝，才能带来有祂的智慧所调和的勇气。

Before making a quick decision, consider why you want to make it quickly. Consider if it will honor God and what it might cost others. If you are afraid to make a decision, think about why that might be. Most of all, pray!

 想想自己为何要决定得如此仓促，
这决定是否能荣耀上帝，
或需要旁人付出什么代价。
若你害怕做决定，原因是什么。  

最重要的是向上帝祷告！

Read:

Numbers 14:39-45

³⁹ When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mournedbitterly. ⁴⁰ Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land theLord promised. Surely we have sinned!” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying theLord’s command? This will not succeed! ⁴² Do not go up, because theLord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, ⁴³ for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from theLord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” ⁴⁴ Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of theLord’s covenant moved from the camp. ⁴⁵ Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

民数记 14:39-45

39 摩西将这些话告诉以色列众人，他们就甚悲哀。 40 清早起来，上山顶去，说：“我们在这里，我们有罪了。情愿上耶和华所应许的地方去！” 41 摩西说：“你们为何违背耶和华的命令呢？这事不能顺利了！ 42 不要上去，因为耶和华不在你们中间，恐怕你们被仇敌杀败了。 43 亚玛力人和迦南人都在你们面前，你们必倒在刀下。因你们退回不跟从耶和华，所以他必不与你们同在。” 44 他们却擅敢上山顶去，然而耶和华的约柜和摩西没有出营。 45 于是亚玛力人和住在那山上的迦南人都下来击打他们，把他们杀退了，直到何珥玛。