Last week I shared how many times I had missed the Lord and His will for my life because of my impatience. Since I asked Him to help me with this, I have had daily challenges to my patience and often many each day. I am also starting to expect daily encounters with the Lord, or some other special purpose encounter. 

         Learning to embrace challenges to my patience has another significant result. The stress monitor on my watch shows that most days I am now living in a range of 20 or more points below what is considered “low stress.” I wonder how many years I could have added to my life had I learned this when I first met the Lord at age twenty-one instead of waiting till I was seventy-one?  

         The effect of this in other areas, such as my ability to control my anger and frustration, is huge. I now have people who have worked for me for many years who have never seen me angry. However, that is because I tend to internalize things, which can be worse for stress levels, which many consider a good health barometer. 

         As I realize how many times I have missed the Lord because of my impatience, and how much richer, more fulfilling, and fruitful my fifty plus years of knowing the Lord could have been, I am resolved to learn patience as my primary form of devotion. I know love is the greatest fruit of the Spirit, but I have also seen how much I fail to love when I demonstrate impatience. 

         I feel like I have had the best life. The encounters and experiences I have had with the Lord are far more and far greater than I ever thought I could have. I have been blessed with some of the best friends and coworkers. I wake up every day with excitement and go to sleep with joy I did not know existed even a few years ago. Yet I am still appalled to realize how much my impatience has cost me in life, which gives me even more resolve to not waste another opportunity.  

         This new revelation on the importance of patience should have been obvious to me as a new believer. I’m embarrassed it took me half a century to see this, but that again is the result of impatience. I am sharing this with you, so you will not make the mistakes I have. How much more powerful would the body of Christ be if we were now walking in the faith and patience required to inherit the promises? Just consider how extraordinary God’s promises are to those who will “wait upon” Him.  

         In Psalm 27:14 we are told, “Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart.” How much could we benefit from having a stronger heart? As troubles grow in the world, the prophecy is coming true that men’s hearts will fail them for fear of the things coming upon the world. We need strong hearts for almost everything, and the way we are promised to have one is to “wait on the Lord.” Waiting takes patience. Waiting on Him demonstrates the importance we give to Him. 

© 2021 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.