Victory Is Yours: Overcome Life’s Challenges God's WaySample

Day 2: The Price of Impatience

I don’t know of anybody who likes to wait. Just the thought of being eighth on the sign-in list at the doctor’s office or standing in that crazy-long line to renew a driver’s license will test anyone’s patience. What I’ve come to realize, though, is that anytime we give in to impatience, whether it’s over something big or something small, our impatience comes at a price. Not just outbursts of anger or high blood pressure, but bad decisions.

Esau forfeited his inheritance because he was hungry. Saul lost his throne because he wouldn’t wait just a little longer for Samuel to arrive and offer the sacrifice. And Aaron built the Israelites an idol to worship because they were worried that Moses was never returning from Mount Sinai (where, incidentally, God was giving him the Ten Commandments).

Impatience got the best of some of the biggest names in the Bible. You and I are no exception. I mean, haven’t you tried to solve the wait or shorten the wait in some way?

It’s human nature to want a quick solution—we’d rather sprint and get it over with than endure a marathon test of faith. We’d rather pop a pill for our symptoms than go through surgery and be healed. Expect this temptation so you won’t be surprised when shortcuts and schemes come to mind. And prepare to resist, understanding that none of these ideas will get you through the wait any faster. If anything, working against God’s timing will add to your troubles and possibly prolong them. There simply isn’t any hope for real resolution if you and I turn aside for a solution that isn’t His.

I like the standard that Samuel the prophet held up for the people of Israel—a standard he himself lived by: “Do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things [including those schemes circulating in your brain] that cannot profit or deliver...The Lord will not forsake his people” (1 Samuel 12:20-22 ESV).

Think About It: You will never get the best God has for you if you let your impatience get the best of you.