Patience and Power
April 3, 2019
Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than he who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32
If you know what delayed gratification is, you know how difficult it is. Delayed gratification is resisting the urge of an immediate reward to receive a greater reward later. Avoiding a temptation that’s standing right in front of you so you can hold out for something substantially better down the line for many of us is a losing battle. But there is so much to be gained from growing in this area; it is vital to our satisfaction and maturity.
Solomon, the wise king, knew self-control/delayed gratification was so critical that he made an amazing comparison. He said an ordinary person with patience is more valuable and powerful than a warrior, and an ordinary person with self-control is more powerful and valued than a military leader who conquers a city. Now that is impressive!
Patience and delayed gratification are about discipline. The more we can say NO to ourselves until God’s timing is right, the more we can delay gratification and seek God’s reward, the more we will be like Jesus. The more we are like Jesus, the more room we will have in our lives for the unexpected and unmatched rewards of God.
Have you ever been hungry and decided not to wait for dinner? You grab yourself a quick hot dog and a handful of junk food, gobble it down and feel queasily full but not really satisfied. Then you find out the dinner coming up in just a short while is steak with all the fixings? Disappointing. Being unable to delay gratification in financial matters is truly a matter of discipline and trusting God. We don’t get to know how God was going to deliver us or what He was going to fix for us when we can’t wait. We whip out the credit card, use the money that is supposed to be set aside for God, for savings, and get ourselves deeper in a hole because we just couldn’t wait. Now that’s disappointing, damaging to our future, and growth-stunting.
- Think of a time when you were patient and waited on God. How was your self-respect? How did God prove Himself?
- Think of a time when you were impatient and moved ahead on your own. What were the results?
- Remember, Jesus was so determined to wait on the Father’s timing that He frequently said, “My time is not yet.” It enabled Him to be our perfect Savior. Ask Jesus to help you be like Him.