Some time ago at an interview I was asked to declare any known personal weaknesses. After a short time of self-examination, I said… “Well, I would say that I still have far to go before I graduate from the Lord’s ‘School of Patience’.”
 
Impatience is an issue for most, if not all of us. Not only are we impatient with ourselves, and others, at times we are impatient with the Lord. In Psalm 13, David cried out to the Lord… “How long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will the enemy have the upper hand? (v 1,2).  
 
Today, we are so time-conscious and time-driven. We have wrist watches that measure time in micro seconds! We squeeze, shove and push to save a few minutes here and there in service queues and in traffic, then at the end of the day when we return home we squander away buckets of time.
 
We expect the Lord to do things in our time frame. However, the Universe and everything in it belongs to the Lord and operates in accordance to His perfect plan and perfect timing. The Lord is ‘the’ Time-Maker and Time-Keeper. He’s not one moment too early or too late.
 
Abraham had to wait 25 years for the birth of his promised son, Isaac. Isaac had to wait 20 years for his twin-sons to be born. Joseph had to wait 13 years before he was set free from injustice, and David had to wait 14 years to be crowned King of Israel.

When the Lord received news that His close friend, Lazarus, was dying, He purposefully delayed travelling to Bethany to come to his aid. As a result, Lazarus died. However, after arriving at Bethany Jesus resuscitated Lazarus back to life! The Lord’s deliberate delay in responding to Mary’s appeal to save her brother gave birth to a greater miracle and blessing to mankind, and greater glory to God (John 11:1-44). Our impatience is a reflection of our sin nature… self-control… wanting things to happen in our time!
 
The Lord is the creator and conductor of matter and time; past, present, and future. Just like David in Psalm 13, whenever we find ourselves being impatient we question the Lord’s sovereign right to control our lives, and every matter in the Universe.
 
Friends, an attitude of impatience is not good for us. ‘Waiting on the Lord’ is what we need to practice (Psalm 27:14). Waiting on the Lord is a Holy Spirit learned virtue that results in calmness and inner peace in the midst life’s many storms and trials. As we practice waiting on the Lord our lives and ministry progress. When we accept the truth that the Lord’s timing is always perfect, we can be patient at all times and in all circumstances. How’s your patience?

Best wishes, 
Bill Joukhadar