The Consequences Of Impatience
“And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off,
his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran to embrace him, and kissed him.”
(Luke15:11-19)
We send some very strong messages by exhibiting impatience toward God. When we demonstrate an inability to tolerate delay, we are telling the Lord, “I do not trust Your timing; mine is better.”
At times, we all stand at forks in the road of life and must decide if we are willing to wait for God’s prompting. It is very important that we obey Him and be patient with His schedule and plan. One example is the Prodigal Son, who in squandering his inheritance, faced several consequences:
1. He brought sorrow on his family. Our impatience often hurts those we love.
2. He separated from his family. When we run ahead of God, we often run away from voices of reason and wisdom in our life too.
3. He faced poverty. We stand to lose a great deal when we ignore the Lord’s timing because His blessing accompanies our obedience.
4. He felt unworthy. We can never experience fellowship with God when impatience keeps us outside of His will.
We know that at the end of the story, the Prodigal Son is joyfully welcomed back into his family. His father lavishes love and attention upon this son and assures him of his worth. But although he is forgiven, the results of his impatience are not entirely erased. He will never regain the wealth he wasted. Often we cannot take back our mistakes when we have jumped ahead of God. It is better that we wait on Him to tell us when to move forward.
About the Author
This article was written by Charles Stanley. You can read more about this author by clicking this link:
http://www.talk.thelife.com/charles-stanley/
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