When I was little boy, I would sit at the top of the stairs, in complete anticipation. I waited for my dad to walk through the door when he was done with work. Before he came through the door, I would quickly put his slippers, aligned just right, on the stairs. All my dad had to do was slip right into the slippers and walk right up the stairs to greet me. He would pick me up with his large arms and always have the best greeting. This was the best time of the day.
Waiting for my dad to get home was the hardest. I would keep looking out the window right around five o’clock to see if he had pulled in yet.
My family loves to go camping, and each year we would go camping at the same lake for years. As soon as we got there, I would ask my parents right away if we could get the boat in the water to do some water skiing or tubing. I would usually get the response to “just wait” or “be patient”. This didn’t really sit well with me.
As a young kid, I was always a “go, go, go” type person. Just ask my parents…. wait…. no, don’t ask them. Even so, I loved to explore and keep moving to the next fun activity or project.
…Our society lives off of this mentality…
We always want to create something to make our job go faster so we can work on the next project, and then have that go faster. It’s almost always about speed. Now don’t get me wrong, this can come with plenty of benefits, however, it can cause quite a strain in life too. We transfer this mentality into our daily lives.
“Be patient!” I don’t know about you, but I heard that plenty of times growing up. Patience, for the most part, does not come to us naturally. If you were to look up the word “patient” in the ESV bible, you would find 21 verses. The Bible expresses plenty of times on the importance of being patient.
- Romans 8:25
- II Corinthians 6:6
- Galatians 5:22
- Ephesians 4:1-2
Look them up! Don’t just skip reading the word of God. He teaches us that it is a good thing to wait. We may not see it, but it is!
How many times have you shown patience and good things come from it? Almost always! Then, why don’t we actually practice this? We want what we desire ten minutes ago. We have no patience to wait for things in life. Whether it is with a relationship, a new job, moving or just that next step in life. We have a hard time waiting days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years until we know fully that good things will happen, if we wait.
I am currently seeing impatience ruin families, relationships, and ones relationship with God. We don’t like the idea that we have to wait, so we take our own initiative to rush our lives.
So then, what are we supposed to do when we wait? Isn’t it obvious? PRAY! God wants us to go to Him and express what is on our hearts.
God is trying to teach me right now to be patient. It hasn’t been easy. I have to pray that God gives me patience each day. If I don’t pray for patience, I end up over-thinking different areas of life and I tend to lose trust in God.
At the very beginning of each day, take and make time to spend at least five to ten minutes in prayer. Ask God for patience in specific areas of your life. Have people in your life that can encourage and strengthen you in being patient. Don’t fight your desires on your own.
Above all, focus on the One
who loves you beyond life itself.
He WILL bless you in being patient on His will.
Spiritual Followings 