Are you a patient person? Are you willing to wait for good things to come? Will you sit patiently, putting things in God’s hands? Or, are you impatient? Will you be anxious, fretting over getting what you want?
We see tons of impatience in our society today. With the innovation of technology, we have become impatient, expecting to get what we want with just a few keystrokes. Technology can certainly be used for good but has also spoiled us to the point of becoming anxious and impatient.
Our society has lost the ability to be patient. We see it in our businesses—with manager’s demanding new technical capabilities yesterday and asking why it didn’t happen at the snap of their fingers. Our children and grandchildren, who have grown up in this technology age also demand their wants be satisfied immediately.
A character trait has become nearly extinct. Yet, God has a way of causing us to reacquire those traits that He deems important. We have heard that all things happen in God’s time and that is true. Just don’t make us wait for it. We want patience and we want it now. But God doesn’t work that way. In order to teach us patience, God puts us in situations where we have no alternative but wait.
I remember being on a mission trip to Romania. During our return home, we were put in a situation that required patience. Our flight arrived in Madrid with very little time to transfer to our connecting flight. Unfortunately, we had to get our boarding passes for the next flight in Madrid due to the Romanian airlines being unable to provide them to us before we left Bucharest. I jokingly told one lady on our team that she was to blame because she had been praying for patience. You see, we missed our connecting flight and had to stay overnight in Madrid.
We have heard the old saying, “patience is a virtue.” Perhaps what we have forgotten is that virtues come from God. As humans, we are flawed. In order to be virtuous, we need God in our lives. Therefore, in order to be patient, we need God to teach us this virtue.
I pray that we all learn patience as we go through this time of uncertainty. I pray each of us lean on God and remain confident that He is in control. I pray we continue to see the good that God is doing during this disconcerting time. Be confident in God. Be patient with others. Sit quietly and listen for God. Spend time in God’s Word. Be strong in the Lord. Wait for God.
Psalm 27:13-14
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
