Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” Genesis 16:1-2
Do you know how the flower group Impatiens got its name? Their name reflects their impatient nature of dispersing their seed. Below are further details on the reasoning behind the name:
While other plants may trust the wind or animals to scatter their seeds, the fruit capsules of Impatiens spp. dramatically explode along their seams at the slightest touch, propelling the seeds up to six feet away from the mother plant; 1
Instead of following the norm of trusting the wind or animals to scatter their seeds, Impatiens do their own thing to get it done. They are too impatient to wait on others to do the job. Sound familiar?
We are not naturally patient
Patience is not a natural tendency we are born with. From the moment we are born, we are screaming to have our way, right away. With the guidance of parents, guardians, teachers and generally life experiences, we learn that patience is a beneficial personal characteristic to possess, in order to successfully coexist with others. As we live, work and play with them, we will have to factor in their ways and timing which can clash with our ways and timing. Therefore, impatience will be a hindrance to enjoying life with others.
Impatience is what caused Abram and Sarai to make the decision to use Sarai’s plan to speed up the process of having children. God had promised Abram that he would have a son (see Genesis 15) but it seems that this promise took too long to become a reality for the couple. So they took matters into their own hands and decided to do their own thing instead of trusting God’s way and timing. They became Exhibit #1 on not waiting well for God’s plan to unfold. The result of them not waiting well caused havoc in their marriage, their future family and continues to impact our world today as we see the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region (see Genesis 16:11-12; 21:8-18).
The consequences of not waiting well
Not waiting well can also bring us dire consequences. In a recent conversation with a dear friend, we talked about how we can run ahead of God to fix our challenges. We see the problem and can easily get caught up in wanting to solve it immediately to alleviate discomfort caused by the problem. After initial emotions of shock, disappointment and anger, we can quickly move into fixit mode.
But what if the challenge is an opportunity to experience the greatness of God? What if by us moving ahead with our agenda to resolve it, causes us to miss out on what God wants to do for us through the challenge? Could we be missing out on experiencing more of God because we are choosing not to wait well for Him to move in our situation?
Choosing God’s best or less?
What are you personally waiting for today? What problem are you waiting for God to resolve? What have you been praying about for years but it has not become a reality yet in your life? What promise from God seems to be dead in your eyes because it is taking too long to be fulfilled? And as you wait, how well are you waiting? Are you trusting in God’s ways and timing? Or are you devising your own plan to get things done in your time?
Like Abram and Sarai, it might seem like we are getting things done but we can never accomplish it on the level that God desires for us. When we choose not to wait well and impatiently move ahead of God, we will always choose the lesser side and miss out on the best God has for us.
It’s like that child who wants that candy in the glass jar on top of the fridge and is too impatient to wait for help. Instead of waiting, they hatch their own plan to get it. As they reach for the glass jar, they knock it to the floor where it shatters. Glass splinters litter the floor, painfully piercing their feet as they unsuccessfully try to make their way out of the mess. The candy is now theirs but any enjoyment they expected to have is now replaced with: suffering from the glass embedded in their feet, fear for the punishment they will receive for being disobedient and the chore of having to clean up the mess they made. At the right time, the candy would have been theirs to enjoy. But because they chose not to wait well, they instead reaped suffering, fear and unnecessary work… And we dare to experience the same when we also choose to not wait well!
The final word for us today…
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14 NLT)
- https://www.morrisarboretum.org/blog/plant-name-blooper-impatiens-capensis-jewelweed#:~:text=Impatiens%2C%20a%20genus%20with%20over,fruit%20capsules%20of%20Impatiens%20spp. ↩︎
Considerations 