St. Augustine once said, "Patience is the companion of wisdom." I don't think he had to wait in a waiting room for an appointment.
I am not what you would call a "patient" man. I can't quite put my finger on why I am impatient but I think it might be related to living in a society that looks for "instant" gratification (at least that is what I tell myself.) I am not one that likes to be kept waiting especially when I have an appointment with someone. I chose sales as my profession because I like to talk and I wasn't smart enough to be a lawyer. And in sales I am often required to "wait" for people. And like I said I hate to wait. There is nothing quite like arriving somewhere fifteen minutes before the appointed and pre-approved hour and being told by a gatekeeper that you can take a seat and someone will be with you in a moment. Those times in those waiting rooms are the absolute worst. I check my emails on my iPhone, look at Twitter and Facebook, and text my wife to tell her I love her or ask her to pray for me and my appointment. And thats just in the first three to five minutes. Did I say that I am impatient and struggle with waiting? Idle time is the devil's plaything isn't it?
Someone who I draw strength from is Abraham. The Father of Nations. God's man! He too went through a time of waiting. Ten years to be exact. Talk about getting impatient. And as being impatient often does, it led him to make a rash and unwise decision. God had promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a child. And ten years had passed and no kid. Talk about trying someones patience. Have you ever been around a woman that desperately wants to be a mother? They can be scary! (no offense ladies but y'all can be a handful sometimes)
It had gotten so bad that Sarah, her impatience at it's boiling point, looked for a "loophole" in God's promise. He had promised Abraham a child but god never said who the mother would be. Sarah basically came up with a scheme that would involve Abraham committing adultery with her servant Hagar. Then when she became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Ishmael things got even worse. And as so many impatient and rash decisions often do, this plan turned towards dysfunction, bitterness, jealousy, and utter chaos for all involved. This is what happens when we can't see past the end of our noses and think only of the "now" and not for the "future."
In fact, in God's own time He still gave Abraham and Sarah a son, Issac. But the problems that arose from Ishmael are still effecting us today. The conflict brought about by impatience is still present today between Israel and other Arab nations. All caused by the unwillingness to wait on what God has planned.
Part of following God is learning to wait on Him. God's rolex and ours don't always run on the same time zone. And just like when I have to wait on a customer, God makes me wait. Often in the valley or even on the mountain. He makes me wait in the place where I can learn the most and where I can develop the skills necessary to complete the tasks He has for me later. He doesn't take pity on my plight and give me a ray of sunshine to let me know I am about to move the way a gate keeper often will. God doesn't have to explain anything to us. The quicker we realize this the better off we will be.
We may find ourselves screaming from where ever God has us, asking, "Move Me! I can't take this anymore!" And the whole time God is saying, "Be Patient! Just be still for a minute longer!"
When we realize that He does this for our betterment and not our torment we will be so much better off.
What is God asking to wait for? Marriage? A financial responsibility? Children? A new job? A relationship? What ever it is that God has you waiting for take my advice, wait. Don't rush. Wait on God. The rewards are far more valuable than the immediate rush when you don't.
I am not what you would call a "patient" man. I can't quite put my finger on why I am impatient but I think it might be related to living in a society that looks for "instant" gratification (at least that is what I tell myself.) I am not one that likes to be kept waiting especially when I have an appointment with someone. I chose sales as my profession because I like to talk and I wasn't smart enough to be a lawyer. And in sales I am often required to "wait" for people. And like I said I hate to wait. There is nothing quite like arriving somewhere fifteen minutes before the appointed and pre-approved hour and being told by a gatekeeper that you can take a seat and someone will be with you in a moment. Those times in those waiting rooms are the absolute worst. I check my emails on my iPhone, look at Twitter and Facebook, and text my wife to tell her I love her or ask her to pray for me and my appointment. And thats just in the first three to five minutes. Did I say that I am impatient and struggle with waiting? Idle time is the devil's plaything isn't it?
Someone who I draw strength from is Abraham. The Father of Nations. God's man! He too went through a time of waiting. Ten years to be exact. Talk about getting impatient. And as being impatient often does, it led him to make a rash and unwise decision. God had promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a child. And ten years had passed and no kid. Talk about trying someones patience. Have you ever been around a woman that desperately wants to be a mother? They can be scary! (no offense ladies but y'all can be a handful sometimes)
It had gotten so bad that Sarah, her impatience at it's boiling point, looked for a "loophole" in God's promise. He had promised Abraham a child but god never said who the mother would be. Sarah basically came up with a scheme that would involve Abraham committing adultery with her servant Hagar. Then when she became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Ishmael things got even worse. And as so many impatient and rash decisions often do, this plan turned towards dysfunction, bitterness, jealousy, and utter chaos for all involved. This is what happens when we can't see past the end of our noses and think only of the "now" and not for the "future."
In fact, in God's own time He still gave Abraham and Sarah a son, Issac. But the problems that arose from Ishmael are still effecting us today. The conflict brought about by impatience is still present today between Israel and other Arab nations. All caused by the unwillingness to wait on what God has planned.
Part of following God is learning to wait on Him. God's rolex and ours don't always run on the same time zone. And just like when I have to wait on a customer, God makes me wait. Often in the valley or even on the mountain. He makes me wait in the place where I can learn the most and where I can develop the skills necessary to complete the tasks He has for me later. He doesn't take pity on my plight and give me a ray of sunshine to let me know I am about to move the way a gate keeper often will. God doesn't have to explain anything to us. The quicker we realize this the better off we will be.
We may find ourselves screaming from where ever God has us, asking, "Move Me! I can't take this anymore!" And the whole time God is saying, "Be Patient! Just be still for a minute longer!"
When we realize that He does this for our betterment and not our torment we will be so much better off.
What is God asking to wait for? Marriage? A financial responsibility? Children? A new job? A relationship? What ever it is that God has you waiting for take my advice, wait. Don't rush. Wait on God. The rewards are far more valuable than the immediate rush when you don't.
Comments
Post a Comment