DON'T LET IMPATIENCE GET YOU IN TROUBLE

DON’T LET IMPATIENCE GET YOU IN TROUBLE

Jane and I waited for the last bus out of downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. We had just moved there from the States to do missionary work, so I had my passport with me in a large purse I carried at my side. It was dusk, and we were getting anxious to get back to our friends’ house before nightfall. The bus should have been there already.

 

I was starting to worry, “Did we miss it?” Jane answered, “I don’t think so, but maybe the buses don’t run regularly, so I don’t really know.” We waited longer. We were the only ones waiting, which made it scarier because we didn’t have anyone to ask. What we did next was really foolish.

 

Our impatience prompted us to move. We went down the street to another bus stop closer in the direction of home. We waited there impatiently until we couldn’t take it anymore, and we moved down the street again. We did this three times, getting further and further away from the more populated area. The sun was going down, and we were getting more worried now—new country, unfamiliar ways, alone on an empty street, and no bus in sight. Then Jane spotted a young black African man coming our way.

 

He got about halfway down the block and bolted toward us. Jane had seen him, but all I saw was a blur.  She jumped in front of me, grabbing me with both arms around the middle as I clutched my purse to my chest. The guy hesitated, then ran past us a ways. He stopped and continued walking slowly down the street as if nothing unusual had happened.

 

Jane gently loosened her grip on me, and I relaxed my clenched fists, but my heart was still racing and we were both hyperventilating. When we settled down and started to breathe a little easier, in quivering voices we begged God to get the bus there soon.

 

It pulled up in just a few minutes—the very last bus leaving the city. For the next three years of living in Johannesburg, we stayed much more alert and aware of our surroundings and prayed about everything.

 

God wasn’t the one who told us to move down to the next bus stop. We should have just stayed where we were, but we let impatience manipulate us into trouble.

 

How often has each of us acted impatiently, recklessly setting out in a direction of our own choosing, without consulting the Lord? Proverbs 21:2 tells us: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” But Luke 21:19 tells us: “In your patience possess ye your souls.” Patience stops to ask for the Lord’s input and acts deliberately, not foolishly.

 

My impatience nearly got my purse, my money, and my passport stolen. Impatience gets us to make mistakes, waste time, get into arguments, and so many other things that we’re sorry for later. Proverbs 20: 22 tells us: “Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.” One crucial way He saves us is to give us His wisdom. So don’t be fretful and hasty like we were. Wait on the Lord.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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DON'T LET IMPATIENCE OVERWHELM YOU THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

DON’T LET IMPATIENCE OVERWHELM YOU THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

With Christmas right around the corner, I found myself with an overload of obligations, and not all were imposed by others—several were obligations I put on myself. In the past, I would have gotten severely stressed out, but not this time. I have a forgiving and kind best friend, Jane, and so when I made batches of cookies, I could leave more of a mess than normal, knowing I’d clean it all up later. In wrapping packages, I could leave the scissors, tissue paper and tape on the spare bed without worrying about it. I’ll put everything away later, and the house will get back to normal. I have learned from the Lord to trust myself and stay peaceful. I learned my lessons when Jane and I were missionaries in South Africa: Impatience is a thief.

Jane and I waited for the last bus out of downtown Johannesburg. We had just moved there from the States to do missionary work, so I had my passport with me in a large purse I carried at my side. It was dusk, and we were getting anxious to get back to our friends’ house before nightfall. The bus should have been there already.

I was starting to worry, “Did we miss it?” Jane answered, “I don’t think so, but maybe the buses don’t run regularly, so I don’t know.” We waited longer. We were the only ones waiting, which made it scarier because we didn’t have anyone to ask. What we did next was really foolish.

Impatience prompted us to move. We went down the street to another bus stop closer in the direction of home. We waited there impatiently until we couldn’t take it anymore and we moved down the street again. We did this three times, getting further and further away from the more populated area. The sun was going down, and we were getting more worried now—new country, unfamiliar ways, alone on an empty street, and no bus in sight. Then Jane spotted a young black African man coming our way.

He got about halfway down the block and bolted toward us. Jane had seen him, but all I saw was a blur.  She jumped in front of me, grabbed me with both arms around the middle, as I clutched my purse to my chest. The guy hesitated, then ran past us. He stopped and continued to walk slowly down the street as if nothing unusual had happened at all.

Jane gently loosened her grip on me, and I relaxed my clenched fists, but my heart was still racing, and we were both hyperventilating. When we settled down and started to breathe a little easier, in quivering voices, we begged God to get the bus there soon.

In just a few minutes, it pulled up—the very last bus leaving the city. For the next three years of living in Johannesburg, we stayed much more alert and aware of our surroundings and prayed about everything.

God wasn’t the one who told us to move down to the next bus stop. We should have just stayed where we were, but we let impatience drive us into trouble.

How many times have each of us acted impatiently, recklessly setting out in the direction of our own choosing, without really consulting the Lord? Proverbs 21:2 tells us: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” But Luke 21:19 tells us: “In your patience possess ye your souls.” Patience stops to ask for the Lord’s input and acts deliberately, not foolishly.

My impatience nearly got my purse stolen, along with my money and passport. Impatience gets us to make mistakes, waste time, get into arguments, and so many other things that we’re sorry for later. Proverbs 20: 22 tells us: “Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.” One important way He saves us is to give us His wisdom. Don’t be fretful and hasty like we were. Wait on the Lord.

This incident was a marker in my life and changed me on the inside. The impatience we experience around the holidays may not be life-threatening, but it still exhibits the same characteristics, stealing our peace, our time, and our good nature. It can affect our health, our jobs, and our relationships, among other things. So let’s be cognizant of the sneaky devil and take a deep breath with the Lord. God can guide us through any stress with ease if we only ask and believe. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Love, Carolyn

DO YOU EVER GET IMPATIENT WITH GOD?

One day about a month ago I got a letter in the mail from the insurance company, saying they weren’t going to insure my house anymore because of the roof. As you can imagine, I was horrified. I prayed, but as the weeks passed and there was one delay after another, I got impatient with the Lord.

My “Imp”-patience let the imps into my situation and messed with my head. I was very bothered by this whole thing and worried that the insurance company was going to drop me. I let my mind get all wrapped up around this thing and I had lost my trust in the Lord, until one morning.

I was reading 2 Timothy 2:26 that says, “They may recover [awake] themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will,” and I said, “That’s me! I need to wake up!” I realized that after I’d prayed about the roof situation, I let circumstances of delay get in the way and I took the problem back on myself.

Instantly I got the picture in my mind of a little girl who had been horribly abused. She didn’t have the means to fight back. She was scared and had no idea what to do. Jesus took her hand and gently led her to safety, and away from the trauma. She went with Him. She knew to trust Him.

In that moment I knew to trust Him entirely too. I let go of all my consternation. I believed in the depth of my heart that even if they dropped my insurance, it would still work out the best for me somehow. I was able to release all my worry.

I was able to patiently wait and only do what the Lord Jesus told me to do and I was amazingly worry-free. Finally, my local insurance lady called me to tell me she could see on the computer that they were going to renew my insurance.

Once I released my anxiety and impatience about the insurance, to the Lord, the devil tried to throw several smaller worry “hooks” my way. But I wasn’t biting.

Now I pray, stay calm and patiently wait on the Lord and I trust Him because I believe He really does love me.

One time Daniel in the Bible was waiting for an answer to prayer and he was getting anxious like we do sometimes. When the answer came, the angel who happened to be bringing the answer, told Daniel that he had been delayed because of some very strong devil spirit in the area of Persia, “but Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me” (Dan. 10:13).

Did you ever think about the fact that the good angels bringing our answers can get delayed in battles with evil spirits who don’t want us to get our deliverance, or our healing or whatever it is that we are praying for? That’s another great reason to have a little patience.

Anxiety only makes bad things happen to our minds, our emotions, and our bodies as well. I’ve recently added Philippians 4:6-7 to the verses I say in the morning: “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The Amplified Bible has an extended translation of these verses that is pretty awesome:

“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”

Lazarus’ sisters got very anxious and disturbed when Jesus didn’t come immediately to answer their prayers about their brother. Not only did Jesus not come right away, but in those days of waiting, Lazarus died. But Jesus was not being lax. He was just doing as His Father God was showing Him to do.

Sometimes Jesus doesn’t seem to show up to give us our answers either, but it doesn’t mean He’s not concerned. We still need to trust Him. When Jesus did come, not only did Lazarus come alive again, but it was a spectacular witness to some of the unbelieving Jews that were there. “He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’ Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him” (John 11:44-45).

I think that a lot of times the Lord just wants us to slow down our own bravado and let Him work. When we slow down our own works, he shows us His marvelous works, which also to build our trust in Him even more.

I love the record of Jehoshaphat in Second Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat was about to be attacked by three nations at once. He prayed, “O our God, we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee (vs. 12). The word from God was, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you” (vs.17). Verse 22 tells us the people began to sing and praise, because they honestly trusted it would work out. We definitely need to do that more: sing and praise before we see the final result, just because we totally put our trust in HIM.

God worked an amazing miracle. The three nations began to fight each other, “And when Judah came toward the watchtower, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth and none escaped” (vs.24). Not only was there no threat anymore, but for some reason the enemy brought lots of rich treasure with them to the battle and guess who got the treasures? That’s right, God’s people who trusted Him.

Let’s not get impatient, but be more like those who sing and praise even before the results are final, because we totally obey and trust the Lord.

Love, Carolyn

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