In preparing to substitute for my
Sunday school teacher in our class, I find myself caught by a statement the
author of our study book makes. We have been studying the virtues a Christian
should possess and exhibit. Lately, we are studying patience.
The author, Randy Frazee, states it
this way, “At the root of impatience is
mistrust.”1 We see full-blown impatience when Sarai
takes things into her own hands and gives Abram her handmaid, Hagar. We all
know what has happened because of that action.
What causes us to lose patience?
*We feel rushed. Maybe we didn’t allow enough time for an activity
or prep time for an event. Could it be that the number of incidences of road
rage could be lowered if a person had left home a bit earlier?
*We become angry. Maybe someone pushes our buttons. Usually, when
this happens to me, the issue is a trivial one that won’t matter on another
day.
*We have lost sleep. We should choose to plan our evenings and our
days so we can sleep and take those naps (my stepfather called then “siestas”)
in order to be able to not get riled up.
We have always been taught not to
request patience from God because if we do ask, He will send events and
conditions to us with the aim of our developing it.
When I was in college, I learned
that certain responses to life are learned responses. We have to learn to be
humble, patient, kind and gentle. Our natural bend is to be the opposite of
these assets. I have found that, for me, it is true. If I am left to my own
thoughts and ways, I will become very impatient.
1.
Randy
Frazee, Think, Act, Believe, Like Jesus, © 2014 Zondervan, Grand Rapids,
Michigan. P.196
Patience is one of those virtues that seems to have to be learned over and over again! In other words, I don't know if we ever totally master it...but it is a daily lesson in learning. yes, we need to seek the Lord and He will help us deal with the frustrations that make us impatient...and we need to plan ahead and prepare for things appropriately so we don't get in a rush. Again, one of those life lessons always needing review. Great post.
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you for your thoughts. I used to say,"If we don't learn the lesson God has for us, we get to take a remedial lesson."
DeleteHello Cecilia! I saw Pamela's post about your new book and wanted to come and say hello... happy to meet you, and I agree with the premise of this post... our impatience many times takes us to a place of difficulty, but I've found that the Lord is able to take even our mistakes, failures, and imperfect ways and use them as tools to further teach us about Him. How gracious He is! May the Lord continue to bless your writing for Him :)
ReplyDeleteMarilyn: Thank you for stopping in. I appreciate your thoughts about the Lord being able to use our mistakes and use them as teaching tools. He has done that for me innumerable times. Peace and Blessings to you and yours.
DeleteI agree with the author that said impatience is a mistrust issue. I believe it is also a selfishness issue. We think our time or what we have to say is more important than others' time or words.
ReplyDeleteI do not, however, believe we should not ask God for patience. He wants us to have ALL the fruit of the spirit, and he is not the author of trouble. We can grow from learning to handle troubles, but God would never send adversity just to make us learn patience. That's cruel and He's not cruel. He's kind.
Thank you, Jeanette, for your thoughts on this subject. You make a good point about it being a selfishness issue. God is just. He allows us to go through times that we call stressful in order to teach us how to trust in Him.
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