Impatience

 IMPATIENCE

How many times in a day do we struggle with the impatience?  Things are not happening as quickly as we thought they would.  Someone isn't meeting our needs in the way we thought they should.  We even think God is slow in how and when He responds to our prayers – particularly when we tell Him what we need and expect Him to respond immediately. 

We feel stressed, worried, and irritated and since we think no one cares, we decide we better do what we need to do to "get this show on the road."  Too often the immediate action we take causes more trouble for us than we could ever have anticipated.

God’s promise to us is:

I hold you by your right hand — I, the Lord your God, and I say to you, don’t be afraid.  I am here to help you. 

Isaiah 41:13

And this truth from God’s Word that is meant to give us courage to hang on through the dark moment.

Let’s not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Galatians 6:9

At its root impatience is really unbelief in a good God.  God promises that He will always be there for us and that all things will work together for our good.  However, we don't really believe we are watched over and cared for. 

In other words, impatience is really one expression of our self-will as we remove our will and our life from God's care – and we already know that disaster awaits us when we do that.

It also takes courage to do things God's way rather than in the way our "instant gratification" society demands.  God wants to build character in us as we wait for His perfect plan and timing. 

Heavenly Father, help us today, even in this moment, to take a breath, relax, pray, and give You the opportunity to do what You say you will. 

Help us to trust You with our day – our life – even the parts that frustrate and irritate us.  Help us to do the next right thing and leave everything else with You, trusting that You will make all things right as we surrender to Your will.  Amen

Thank goodness it’s all about progress and not perfection.  Let’s see our own growth, however small, in moving from impatience to trust in God’s care today.

Further Encouraging Thoughts For Today

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