Most Christians will agree that God is the author of patience and therefore, Satan is the publisher of impatience. Think about it. Every sin starts with an impatient thought. The Biblical word for patience describes a person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint. Due to the free will you possess when faced with delays and disappointments, you can choose revenge - hostility, criticism - all of which are not only unkind, but sins. Or you can choose restraint - kindness in self-control - the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience. This quality is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The writer of Hebrews tells us that patience is necessary in order to inherit God’s promises. Yet, aren’t we sometimes living the other way around? Don’t we wonder what is taking God so long to answer our prayers? We prayed for answers to problems yesterday and today the problem still has no answers. We asked for a better job, a better car, a better life a year ago and today it’s the same old hum drum. We get impatient. We get upset. We get mad. We wonder where God is and why hasn’t He blessed us. We feel like we’re on hold.

Scripture is loaded with instructions about "waiting" for the Lord. Jeremiah writes in Lamentations 3:25, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." Biblically, the word wait is a verb that is found some 50 times in Scripture. It means to wait in anticipation, to look for, to expect His direction and blessing, to not take matters into your own hands. I think it’s a fair guess to say that pretty much everyone in Scripture could be found waiting for God about something. And those who didn’t wait and acted on their own accord, got into some serious difficulties. Noah waited, Abraham and Sarah waited, David waited, Moses waited, Job waited, John the Baptist waited, Peter waited, and even Jesus waited. Waiting is an Old Testament way of describing patience. The people in Scripture who didn’t wait had some serious outcomes because of it. During the time of Isaiah, Israel was being threatened by enemies. The Lord sent the prophet Isaiah with His word to instruct Israel how He wanted them to handle these threats. But, the people of Israel grew impatient waiting for God’s timing and Isaiah 30:1-2 you find out the outcome of that impatience.

Woe to my rebellious children, says the Lord, who carry out a plan, who ask advice from everyone but Me, and decide to do what I don’t want you to do. You yoke yourselves with unbelievers, thus piling up your sins. Without consulting Me, you go down to Egypt, without asking for my counsel, to take aid in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be disappointed, humiliated, and disgraced.

This is the opposite of waiting - the opposite of patience. Israel got impatient. They got impatient waiting for God to deliver them from their enemy. God wasn’t acting in the time or the way that they thought was best. They went to Egypt for help instead. They were able to strike a deal, but the plan wasn’t God’s. And because it wasn’t God’s plan, the plan backfires and Israel experiences some icky outcomes - Egypt does not deliver them.

If you’re thinking of not waiting for God’s direction and timing, to allow Him to give your next step, if you’re tempted to give up on Him or go ahead without Him - please recognize that this is a moment of great spiritual warfare. This is a moment when you again decide what you believe. Satan would have you believe that you don’t need God’s input or direction about everything. And in this thought, Satan gets you into unwanted outcomes - financial burdens, relationship struggles, job difficulties, stress, worry, anxiety, high blood pressure, migraines, and physical disorders. Wow. All this because of not waiting. Impatience is a battle against unbelief. Pastor John Piper says, "Which ever way you have to battle impatience the main point is that it’s a battle against unbelief and therefore it’s not merely a personality issue. It’s the issue of whether you live by faith and whether you inherit the promises of eternal life."

The next time you get impatient, correct that thinking with the truth:

No one is obligated to obey your time table, preference, or idea of common sense. Romans 14: 3-4

You must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches you to wait patiently and confidently. Romans 8:25

Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. Romans 12:12

Do not be sluggish or lazy but an imitator of those who through faith and patience receive God’s promises. Hebrews 6:12

 Patience is not a passive resignation to difficulties or problems, rather a positive steadfastness that bravely endures.