Counselor's Corner: Needing Quick Fixes and Instant Results

Are you like me, a little inpatient when you have to wait for things, like waiting in a grocery line at the store knowing you got better things to do, right? Patience is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit so why do I seem to not have a lot of it?

When I pray, I expect immediate results and quick fixes to my problems. Patience is usually developed through the trials and challenges of life. I have prayed for patience but I wanted God to just give it to me! What I am finding through my own life, is that God develops patience through the tough times. There is usually not a quick fix or an immediate result to our problems.

We live in a culture that wants everything instant, whether it’s our food quickly available through a microwave or pictures we take on our phones that can be immediately downloaded. Whatever happened to the good ol’ days where you took pictures on a camera, and then took the film to a photo lab and waited for at least a week to get those pictures back? Sometimes if we are not careful we can begin to act like the world around us demanding, “I don’t want to have to wait, I want it now!” When I was growing up many years ago, people worked hard and waited to take vacations after they saved enough money to go. Now, people take vacations whenever they want because they just charge it all on their credit card. I am not implying that credit cards are bad, just using an example of our culture wanting instant gratification.

When a farmer sow’s seeds in the ground, he has to wait patiently for that crop to produce a harvest. Now if that farmer prematurely goes out and digs up his newly planted seeds, he will most likely have seeds still. The farmer must not want instant results when he plants.

►Reflection questions:

1)      What in your life do you want instant results or a quick fix to your situation?

2)      Have you grown tired of praying for the same things and seeing no results?

3)      Do you get frustrated when things are not quick fixes for you, or that God does not answer your prayers sooner?

4)      Would you define yourself as an impatient person?

→Now that you have answered the above questions, reflect on the definition of patience and see how it applies or not applies to you:

Patience:

·         The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

·         The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

·         The ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.

·         Quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care.

Patience comes easier to us when things are going our way, but when our rights are violated our patience is put to the test. Patience reveals our faith in God’s timing in the face of injustices and irritations. Our patience is developed and strengthened by resting in God’s will and timing, even when evil men appear to succeed in their ways.

#GotPatience?

Impatience leads to stress, tension, anger and frustration.