Impatience Is A Battle And Here Is How To Win
Everyone has a private battle. Sometimes our biggest battle is beneath the surface. For me, it is impatience.
I feel like every problem can be fixed and I can’t understand why people don’t get it done! I can listen for a good while but why don’t they just spit it out? I have places to get to so why don’t people at least go the speed limit and use the right lane?
On and on I could go, but here are some simple fixes for impatience:
Learn to wait.
Waiting is my least favorite thing. In a line or for a plane that is delayed, I can feel my temperature rising.
The Lord showed me that I have to learn to WAIT upon Him. That means to just sit there, be still and quiet, and relax before Him. Even in prayer, I don’t like to wait!
Lesson: “If you can learn to wait on God you can learn to wait on people.”
Call on the Holy Spirit
One of the Spirit’s “fruit” is “patience.” That’s because He IS so patient.
He is patient with all my foolishness and faults! He is patient with the world who blasphemes Christ. He is patient for people to repent.
When I don’t have patience, I have learned to stop and inwardly connect with Him. I asked Him to let His fruit of patience rise up inside me and soothe my raw emotions. I utter a silent thanksgiving to God for His patience flowing through me in that trying moment.
Build margins.
Believe it or not, a lot of impatience comes from procrastination!
Perhaps I delay leaving when I should or starting a project when I needed to. The result is a compressed schedule. I have barely enough time to accomplish my goal.
Start early. Beat procrastination. Leave margin for error and delays. It never hurts to arrive early or turn your paper in ahead of time. Now, impatience has no opportunity!
Don’t excuse yourself!
We often excuse our impatience because we think we are SO important. “Don’t they know that I have places to go and goals to achieve?”
Moses was told by God to calmly speak to the Rock for water to flow to his impatient congregation. Instead, he took the rod and struck the rock twice! God kept him from achieving his lifetime ambition of entering the promised land because of one “small” sin: impatience.
Lesson: “When we are impatient, we test God’s patience.”
Honor all people.
When we are impatient, we dishonor others. We treat them as an expendable commodity. We act as though they can move mountains and walk on water.
Honor them. Don’t destroy a relationship to accomplish an objective.
I know this all sounds easy. It’s not.
