“I want it now!”
This cry is heard regularly in stores, schools, and homes throughout the world. Most people want whatever they want right now, rather than being willing to wait for it. The fast food industry thrives because people would rather pay more to have dinner in 3-5 minutes than take 45 minutes to prepare it at home. We buy the cheaper, quicker items because we do not want to spend the time and resources to fix it or work on it. It may be all right at the time, but in the end, you will be worse off because you chose to make the impulsive decision.
As adults, many of us have not yet learned to be patient. Traffic is usually the worst annoyance, isn’t it? It’s no wonder that road rage has become an actual hazard of living in a city or traveling in any congested area. We often become upset even sitting at the traffic lights because they keep us from going where we want, when we want to go there.
We should understand that God desires for us to learn patience—not only in the major matters of life, but also in the small, seemingly insignificant times. If we will learn to trust and obey what God has said He can and will do for us, we will be able avoid the problems that come from being impatient.
The Bible has many true stories that illustrate the need for patience. Character Connection teachers tell the children about Abraham and Sarah who grew impatient while waiting for God to give them a son of their own. Later on in history, their own grandson, Esau, displayed a lack of patience when he made an unwise deal with Jacob, his trickster brother. Jacob himself was impatient and kept trying to arrange things in his favor instead of waiting on God to provide for him. There are good examples, too, such as Job, the upright man whose faith was tested by terrible sadness and suffering. He continued to trust God and to love Him with all his heart, and God rewarded him for his patience and faithfulness.
What God wanted for each of these people was for them to learn to trust Him and to learn to be content with His timing. Over and over, though, we see examples of those who were not content to wait on God’s timing. Just as easily as it happened to them, the trap of impatience can ensnare each of us. God has perfect timing. He just asks us to trust Him, to do what is right, and to wait.
MEMORY VERSE
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 1:3