The Opposite of Patience

Photo by Ümit Bulut on Unsplash

The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. – Ecclesiastes 7:8

Forty-something years ago, as a new Christ-follower, I knew I had a temper. An ugly, impatient propensity to explode verbally at my newlywed Prince Charming. Poor Bill. His princess bride acted like the Wicked Witch of the West. I prayed for patience.

I assumed God would miraculously give me a quiet, gentle spirit. But that’s not how God grows our patience. According to the Bible, the Lord uses trials (James 1:2–4). And trials came. More contention. More clamor.

Then I read Ecclesiastes 7:8. I thought I was impatient. After all, isn’t impatience the opposite of patience?

No! Pride is.

My actions revealed arrogance. I wanted everything my way, on my timetable. I wanted a baby right away. Bill wanted to wait. I needed humility to lengthen my fuse, hush my harsh tone, and not rush ahead of God by dismissing my husband’s leadership.

I’m glad my Heavenly Father never gives up on me. It’s taken many years and many trials, but I find I’m slower to anger and quicker to listen. We all need to learn to wait without an anxious heart, without loud arguing, and without running ahead of God’s plan.

Roy Hession wrote, “Our yieldedness to God is measured by our yieldedness to man.” The patient person yields to others. They stop. Then wait.

It’s not easy. God stretches me in more ways than I ever imagined.

Bill will retire in a couple of more years. Like the Chinese proverb, we’re sleeping in one bed and dreaming two different dreams. I dream of living near some of our grandkids in either Washington or Pennsylvania. He dreams of returning to the farm he grew up on in Wisconsin.

When I’m wearing him out with all the reasons my dream is better, Bill asks, “Have I led us wrong yet?”

No, he has not. Bill waits on the Lord. Besides, it’s at least two years away. The future is none of my business; it belongs to God.

So. I. Wait.

I know God’s plan—whatever it is—will be better than our dreams. As Ecclesiastes 7:8 reminds us, the end of a thing really is better than the beginning. Someday you and I will be perfectly patient, but not in this world. We must wait for Heaven, the home of all perfection.

Questions for Reflection:

1. In what ways do you display arrogance?

2. What trials has God brought you through?

3. How did these trials increase your patience?