Do You Mind Waiting?

Image by La Grande Farmers' Market via Flickr

Let... patience... do a thorough work

James 1:4

Larry Moyer tells the story of a prison warden who asked a man on death row what he would like to eat for his last meal. He said, 'A huge piece of watermelon.' The warden said, 'You must be joking! This is December. Watermelons haven't even been planted, let alone harvested.' The inmate replied, 'That's okay, I don't mind waiting.' So here's the question: do you mind waiting? How do you act when things don't move fast enough for you? Graciously, or not so graciously? 

A well-known minister writes, 'I happened to be in a store and had waited a long time in a slow-moving line to pay for one little item. The people in front of me had stacks of items. Then I was overlooked while somebody else was served ahead of me. When it was finally my turn, the sales assistant looked at me and said, "Thank you for waiting. Are you who I think you are... that preacher on TV? I knew the minute you walked in that it was you." I thought to myself, "What if I'd been angry and mouthing off because I wasn't served in the proper order?" Impatient behaviour can adversely affect our witness.' When you view life's irritations through God's eyes, it changes how you feel about situations that are testing your patience. You begin to see them as friends, not enemies. You realise that God permits them to help mature you. So, '...Let... patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be... perfectly... developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.'

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.