Patience Doesn’t Develop in 5 Minutes

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God isn’t McDonald’s.

Most fast food joints are now promising your meal within so many minutes or it’s free. And you get it: all the sawdust, processed sugar, and dirt (yes, dirt!) you can eat and within five minutes, no less. And I think we’ve become so accustomed to having what we want when we want it that we’ve forgotten: God isn’t McDonald’s. (Thank goodness.) The really good things in life most often don’t come in five minutes.

Wisdom… patience… knowledge… love. None of those things develop within us in five minutes or even five days. Some not even within five years! The really good things in life take time. Thankfully, for our God, time is never an issue. He never runs out of time because He created it. Father God can change anything, fix anything, and heal anything because He has enough time to do it. He always has enough time. And He encourages us to trust Him with that time to do what He has already promised He will do.

The Bible is full of promises about waiting on God. And what does it mean to wait on God? It means giving Him enough time to do what He already wants to do in our lives.

Psalm 27:14 (NKJ): Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 37:7a (NKJ): Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Psalm 37:9 (NKJ): For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalm 37:34a (NKJ): Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

Proverbs 20:22 (NKJ): Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

Isaiah 30:18b (NKJ): Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJ): But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 49:23 (NKJ): You will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”

Here are all the things these verses promise that God will do when we agree to wait for Him:

  • Strengthen our hearts
  • Inherit the earth
  • Exalt us to inherit the land
  • Save us
  • Bless us
  • Renew our strength
  • Not be ashamed

There are blessings waiting for us if we wait on the Lord. Now waiting on the Lord is hard because it means we wait. We don’t plan, we don’t do; we simply wait. We pray, we trust, we wait. In this culture of making “to do” lists, planners, and go-go-go, it’s hard to wait. Those around us may think we are crazy for waiting. But when we wait, God works miracles!