Wait Wait Wait

“A friend of... Phillip Brooks, called on him and found him impatiently pacing the floor. His friend asked what the trouble was. Dr. Brooks exclaimed, ‘The trouble is that I am in a hurry, and God is not!”[1]

Patience is said to be a virtue. It is said to be a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Mahatma Ghandi said, “To lose patience is to lose the battle.” Saint Augustine scribed, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Impatience is sometimes a man’s biggest enemy.

One of humanity’s biggest giants is patience. Patience at the store, patience on the road, and patience in the home. It can become a man’s murderer if he lets it. Patience is defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” In a world of constant gratification where everything is given to us immediately or where we believe the world spins at millions of miles an hour, God sits in heaven and slows down the world just a bit.

Patience is one of God’s biggest virtues and it surely is one of man’s biggest struggles. Bible examples show us the danger of impatience, specifically in trying to rush or bring about God’s plans. If man would just slow down a little bit, they would be ok. Let us note a few examples and then make some application:

The Parents Who Wanted God’s Child NOW (Genesis 16:1-2). God promised Abraham a son—a son who would be the start of a great nation. Sarah, Abraham’s wife; however, wanted it rushed. Although she was in her aged years, she attempted to rush God’s plan by giving Hagar as a wife to Abraham so she could have a child. As always this did not bode well and it caused a riff in the family. Surely, it caused division between Abraham and Sarah, and surely Hagar and her mistress (Genesis 16:6). Instead of waiting for God, they decided to take a divine promise into their hands; very unwise indeed. It is hard to wait on God because His outlook is different than ours. We must walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We must rely on Him and His will, not ours. “Teach me Lord to wait” is a good song to sing.  

The Boy Who Was Too Hungry to Wait (Genesis 25:29-34). Esau was the firstborn and Jacob was the second son. According to tradition, the firstborn son was heir to a double portion of the father’s possessions—this was called the birthright. It was special, important, and envied by Jacob. After Esau came from the field, he saw Jacob making stew. Esau’s impatience and hunger could not wait so he besought Jacob for some. Jacob allowed but on one condition—he had to sell him his birthright! Did Esau ponder it for a while? Did he hesitate? The text does not say, but to this author it seems like he instantly accepted. His impatience caused him to lose one of his most valuable possessions! The Hebrews’ writer would use this illustration to show the importance of staying dedicated to God and not giving into worldly bitterness (Hebrews 12:15-16). Impatience can make us do crazy things! 

The Man Who Got Stuff Too Early (Joshua 7:1). Achan sinned—in fact he sinned bad. He had taken of the accursed thing (the treasures in the plunder of Jericho). His quick, covetous, and impatient thinking cost him his life (Joshua 7:21-26). Interestingly, just a chapter later, God commissions Israel to take Ai and tells them “And thou shalt do to Ai and her kind as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves” (Joshua 8:2). If Achan would have waited just a while, he could have had all he wanted.[2] Truly, impatience is foolish. Solomon wrote: “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly” (Proverbs 14:29).  

We would do better to wait on God. Bad things happen when we play time keeper or attempt to move God’s clock backward or forward. James rightly scribed, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy (James 5:7-11).

Are you waiting on God or rushing Him?

Endnotes

[1]Michael Hodgin, 1001 Humourous Illustrations For Public Speaking, Zondervan, 1994, p. 256.

[2]David Guzik