Patience isn’t just meant to make you wait. It’s meant to prepare you. You can’t be content with where you are when you’re too focused on on where you aren’t. All that does is rob your own joy.
In every season, it is God’s Will that we are matured and that we become equipped for the next one. The reason we have such a problem realizing that and finding contentment is that we are conditioned to have it our way, right away. It’s because of things like the internet, fast food, coffee shop drive-thrus, and text messaging.
Our perception on waiting is probably one of the biggest ways societal norms are unparalleled with the Bible. I’m not saying waiting was easy for people we read about like Noah or Abraham though. Throughout the entire Bible, waiting for God seems to be a regular refrain in the life of faith expressed in story after story. There were centuries of waiting for a promised Messiah. People lived and died waiting for Jesus to come. Those people were just more at peace with waiting and trusted that God would reveal His goodness when it was the right time. We struggle with waiting for God to reveal His goodness to us. We want answers now.
The problem with patience, especially in this instant society we live in, is that we are so consciously aware of waiting. It’s a tough pill to swallow for us most of the time. You see, patience is only necessary in the face of opposition for us. If we didn’t face a struggle or opposition of some form, we wouldn’t need patience. The hardship of patience forces us to look to God because we are waiting on Him. It turns our eyes to Him. The key, however, is to realize that patience — true, lasting patience — isn’t something we can develop on our own. It is a gift from God, given to us by the Holy Spirit.
No matter what season of your life you are in, God has a plan for you, where you are. Your purpose isn’t just waiting for you in the next phase of your life. Your purpose is right now.
So instead of sitting around in bitterness about where you are, use this time to grow, to mature, and to make the most out of what God has in front of you.
