Impatience

My wife tells me that I am a very patient person. I'm not sure if she is speaking sarcastically or telling the truth. Anyone who has ever seen me waiting for my wife to finish shopping KNOWS how impatient I can be.

On a whole, we humans are a very impatient lot. Especially these days with microwave ovens, "smart" phones and on-line shopping. We have text messaging, Facebook messaging and instant messaging. Where once there was but one drive up lane at our favorite FAST food restaurant, we now have two. Don't want to have anyone wait tooo long, we might get upset.

In my past life as a secular human I was pretty impatient as well. I had my share of road rage incidents. People in front of me driving too slowly, other drivers making stupid mistakes. I was always exceeding the speed limit, always looking for the shortest line at the grocery store, always trying get out of work ASAP so I could get home and do what I wanted to do.

Shortly after becoming a Christian I was talking with my best friend about prayer and what to pray for. I told her I was going to pray for patience.

"Oh, don't do that!"

"What? Why not?"

"Because if you pray for patience, God will give you something to be patient for."

"So? Isn't that what I am supposed to do? Pray for things I need to improve on?"

"Patience will come to you all on it's own in time. You can't rush it. It's an . . . acquired skill."

Great.

Patient people are hard to find these days. Were people any more patient in the Bible? What advice does the Bible give us? Let's see.

Hey here's a verse for me!

"Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." - Proverbs 14:29

And another!

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." - Psalm 37:7

God really talks a lot about patience. I wonder why that is? (Sarcasm)

One more. This one is REALLY good!

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9

God is VERY patient with us. Shouldn't we also be patient with other people is OUR lives? Shouldn't we be patient . . . with God?

The next time someone says something that makes us mad, we need to hold our tongue. Be patient rather than responding quickly and saying something we will surely regret later. When someone posts something on Facebook that we disagree with, we shouldn't respond right away. We need to think about what we are going to write. There maybe a reason that person wrote what they did. There also might be a disagreement waiting for us if we respond rashly. A trap, set and waiting for us.

Whatever we say, make need to make sure we are right, then, when words are necessary, use scripture! Let God do the talking! We need to be patient with our own words. We should use the Word of God in a loving, compassionate way, and always in context. Speak the truth.

Patience is something developed over time. Increased patience ALWAYS comes with scars. Be prepared to wait at ALL times. Never get flustered or angry when your patience is tried. Or you will keep learning the same difficult lesson over and over again.

A Story About Patience