By Debbie
For most of my life, I never really thought of impatience as a sin. I often excused it as passion, concern, or even zeal for the Lord. But recently, the Holy Spirit has been gently uncovering something deeper in my heart.
I’ve found myself impatient with God—waiting for answers about ministry, direction, and timing. I’ve asked. I’ve prayed. I’ve trusted. And yet, when heaven feels quiet, my heart can grow restless.
What surprised me is how easily that impatience with God spills over into my everyday life—especially in the way I relate to the people closest to me. When I want growth to happen faster, clarity to come sooner, or obedience to look a certain way, impatience quietly takes root.
That’s when the Lord reminded me of a simple but searching truth:
“Love is patient.”
(1 Corinthians 13:4)
If love is patient—and impatience has found a home in my heart—then this isn’t just a minor flaw or personality trait. It’s a place where love still needs to be perfected.
James writes, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
(James 1:4)
Impatience resists the very process God uses to mature us. It pushes for outcomes while God is still shaping hearts—starting with mine.
Psalm 100:2 tells us to “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
But gladness fades when impatience takes over. One flows from surrender; the other from striving.
At its core, impatience reveals a lack of trust—not only in God’s timing, but in His ability to work deeply and faithfully in the lives of those around me. When I grow impatient, I’m not just wanting things to change; I’m struggling to rest.
Then Scripture gently calls me back:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
(Psalm 27:14)
Waiting is not wasted time. It is active trust. It is choosing faith over frustration and believing that God is always at work—even when progress feels slow.
This realization has humbled me. God has never rushed me. He has never forced my growth. He has been endlessly patient, layer by layer, season by season.
So today, I’m learning to lay down impatience and pick up trust. To serve the Lord not with pressure, but with gladness. And to let love be expressed the way Scripture defines it—patient, kind, and secure in God’s timing.
Because impatience doesn’t mean I care too much.
It means I trust too little.
And that is a place where God is still, graciously, at work.
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Prayer
Lord, search my heart and reveal where impatience has taken the place of trust.
Forgive me for rushing what You are carefully growing.
Teach me to wait without striving, to love without pressure, and to serve with gladness. To live in the moment you have given me and to keep my mind and body present with you and with those I love.
Let perseverance finish its work in me, and help me reflect Your patience in every relationship You’ve given me.
I choose to trust Your timing, Your process, and Your faithfulness.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
