Waiting is on my short list. I am generally a pretty patient person, except when I want something now yesterday. I can look back over my 40+ years as a pastor and see so many times I would have been so much better off waiting rather than pushing the envelope.
Personal decisions (especially financial) influenced by my failure to wait. Cars, trucks, credit cards all translate to UGH!
Church leadership decisions pushed because of a failure to wait.
The list can go on but I really don’t need to air my dirty laundry to get the point across.
They say patience is a virtue. Well, all I can say is in many cases I was a very un-virtuous man. 🙂
Case in point of lack of waiting: right now. I mentioned in this post that I sensed God calling me to a time of drawing near to Him. But you know what? I don’t want to wait! I want it NOW! I don’t want to wait until tomorrow. I don’t want to wait until next week. I don’t want to wait for a month. I want it now yesterday.
Funny thing: I’ve heard patience is a virtue. I’ve heard “Good things come to those who wait.” I’ve also read patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5: 22). I’m not sure there is any significance but patience comes right after the big three of “love, joy, and peace.” There are others who learned waiting was essential: Abraham. Elijah. Job. David. Reckon I ought to throw my hat in that ring.
As I have thought about waiting, a song hits home. Hope you will take the time to listen here. So, wait I will because even though it may be uncomfortable, it is best.
Do you have trouble waiting?
Of course, sometimes you are forced to wait because you have no freakin’ idea of what to do or where to do. Grrrrr.
Yep. Been there done that.
Hi Bill,
I have seasons and times of waiting too. In fact, my tiny post it note bookmark in my Bible is a hand-scrawled verse from Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” I love that one.
Never fun to wait, though, 🙂
Jennifer Dougan
http://www.jenniferdougan.com
Good verse Jennifer. And have to agree with your last statement for sure.
“God calling me to a time of drawing near to Him” is a totally foreign concept to me. What is it you are waiting on? What do you expect to happen that would end the wait? Waiting and patience is a tough one because sometimes it is the right thing to do and sometimes not.
I am not ignoring your comment Jeff. Notice the others are shorter. Your questions are valid, very valid. I think I will take a longer answer and form it in a post. I suspect others might be wondering the same thing only not ask. I will post it Wednesday night/Thursday.
Impatient is my UNWORD this year. Join the club.
And yet He still loves us.
That’s grace. Pure and simple.
I don’t get upset very easily Linda. But when I do get impatient, I get antsy. and pig-headed. And…well you get the idea. 🙂
I am NOT good at waiting!
I’ve been reading Barb’s new book “The Renewing of the Mind Project” and I’ve been working on being content.
Part of being content is learning to wait- to be patient and trust God’s timing instead of rushing ahead of Him to get the job done.
Yesterday at church our pastor said that he had a new definition of patience…it’s going at the same pace as those I love (those we are called to love) and not getting frustrated or annoyed with them.
That really struck me because I often have trouble being patient with God and His timing. But God is never impatient with me. He goes at my pace even though I often repeat the same mistakes over and over. He’s more than “tolerant” of me, He’s madly in love with me and therefore He has more patience than I can imagine in how He treats me. (I think of my love for my son but even then there are times I grow impatient and don’t want to go at his slow pace).
Anyway, I hope that helps you- go at God’s pace. Waiting is hard, but it’s worth cultivating.
In my case TC it often depends on what I am waiting for. If it is something important and I want/need to know ASAP then I do become impatient. I have found, as you have, that a lack of contentment is bad news. I have gotten myself into deep stuff (particularly financial) because I have not been content. Other times I am okay with waiting. Gonna have to check that book out.
It’s a great book, Bill. I highly recommend it. It’s one that I will read over and over for years to come.
God has taught me LOTS about the importance of waiting for things to happen in His time, not mine. When I’ve forced something to happen in the past because I thought I should, it would turn out all wrong. Patience is a virtue, but it’s not easy. We all need God’s help to cultivate a more patient nature.
Blessings, Bill!
Forcing something has been a bad thing for me Martha. When trouble comes as a result I have no one to blame but myself. Having patience would have served me much better.
You and I seem to be on the same page this month… Not to go secular, and for the point of humor, remember the quote from Tom Petty?
I appreciate your honesty and prayers, Bill.
Lost on the quote Floyd. I am sorry but I was never a big fan of his. 🙂 You know you have my prayers my friend.
Patience is not one of my virtues I am afraid. But God through several trials has taught me a few things on waiting. It reaps rewards, all not seen right away but waiting can be the very stepping stones to growth. Idleness is not waiting is another thing I have learned. Waiting on the Lord is quite a bit different then waiting on an event or waiting on people. Wish I could say I have waiting nailed down, sad to say I don’t and don’t expect to till Jesus comes. Good post Bill.
I’ll go along with you on this road Betty. I know there are rewards to waiting but I have trouble keeping that in mind during the heat of the battle.
Hi Bill! Oh my yes, I can be very impatient. ‘He who hesitates is lost’ was often quoted at my house while growing up. I guess with seven siblings, that was very true!
When St. Paul wrote about what love is, the first thing he mentioned was patient, so it must be really important. It’s taken a lot of years of un-learning to not even get there yet very consistently. But I have hope!
Blessings,
Ceil
Seven siblings would make anyone impatient. 🙂 I made reference to several characters but failed to remember that Scripture from I Cor.13 where he defines love as “Love is patient.” Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
That was hilarious ! ” waiting is on my SHORT LIST !
It’s on mine too…I’m impatient also. I think this is a trait with Highly intelligent people, don’t you ? We do believe Christ is coming soon.
Have you seen where there have been two calves ( one from Ohio and one from Texas, I believe) that have a very prominent 7 on their foreheads ? The second one born was a red heifer. Could be coincidence, but very strange.
Loved the song.
As Rod Cameron used to say ” keep your eyes to the skies”.
Did you know him ? Rob did his funeral here in Converse, he and Bev were missionary’s and later on they ran Rainbow camp here.
Have a week full of blessings (soon)
Hi Pamela! Yes, i will agree on the highly intelligent although I know some who would disagree I fit that bill. 🙂 Yes I did know Rod as well as his son, Mark. Know Bruce but not as well. I pastored a church in Terre Haute, where Mark attended at one time, for 13 years. Thanks for coming by.
It gets easier as I get older, but I still want to jump in and “fix” things rather than wait.
I can attest to that Pam on both counts. 🙂 I have that male trait of wanting to “fix” things.
I’ve become a better at waiting as I’ve learned the difficult consequences of rushing into things impatiently. But oh my there have been some hard lessons along the way. Whew!
I can attest to those hard lessons Deb. they are painful for sure!
I do. I really do.
🙂
Love to answer, but I’m in a hurry…(LOL!)
Yes, Bill, I do have trouble waiting. I find that the area that challenges me the most is waiting for situations to be resolved that cause me anxiety. I worry, and am most impatient, when I am wanting something to be *fixed*.
If patience is a virtue, then I am working on being a virtuous woman!
GOD BLESS!
So we have a comedienne among my readers! Your difficulty is common Sharon. And I’m all for you becoming a virtuous woman. the Bible highlights that. 🙂