When we become impatient and react without thinking, we can do damage to ourselves and others. Sometimes when we pray and God doesn’t respond quickly enough, we decide to take matters into our own hands and things get worse as a result. When God tells us to wait, He’s saying, ‘Trust me with the timing, the ways and means, and you will get a better result.’

David wrote: ‘I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!’ (v.13-14 NKJV). It can be difficult to wait for God. It’s much easier in the heat of the moment to lose our calm. But take a moment to stop and look back. How did any hasty and prayerless decisions you made in the past turn out? Probably not very well, and definitely not as well as they could have done if God had been brought into them. A decision made without God’s involvement might give us some temporary relief, but for a permanent solution, we must pray and ask for His guidance and wisdom.

When we act impulsively, we often do things that we end up regretting and having to apologise for. Impulsiveness got King Saul into serious trouble. Instead of waiting for the prophet Samuel to arrive and the priests to offer a peace offering to God, which would ensure their victory over the Philistines, Saul grew impatient, took over the role of the priest, and offered the sacrifice himself. When Samuel asked him why, he replied, ‘I felt compelled’ (1 Samuel 13:12 NKJV). Then ‘Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly…now your kingdom shall not continue”’ (v.13-14 NKJV). So, make sure you always wait for God.

What Now?

Make yourself a collection of Bible verses or words that you’ve heard from God to help tackle impatience and support you at times when you’re waiting for an answer from Him, or waiting for Him to direct you to the next step on your journey with Him.