The Danger of Giving Up Too Soon

Once there was a woman who attended the Russian ballet in Moscow and she had such a wonderful time watching the performance that she left her laced shawl in her red velvet chair. But, she didn’t realize she left her shawl until she returned home that night. The next day she called the theater to ask if her shawl was there. The man on the other line told her to wait 3 minutes while he went to inquire. Five minutes later he still hadn’t returned. So, due to her impatience the woman hung up. As the man returned to the phone with her shawl in hand, he found a dial tone and no way to get in touch with the woman for he hadn’t gotten her name and contact details at the start of the call.

How many of us have been that impatient woman? If we would have just waited the 2 more minutes, we would have had the satisfaction of knowing our shawl (blessing) was about to be delivered.

One of the Fruit of the Spirit is patience. For some it comes easier than others. For me, this fruit is one of the hardest to adopt. But these fruit that are mentioned in Galatians 5 show that these attributes are attributes of God’s character. And He wants to see Himself in us. And just as He is patient with us, we must be patient with Him and with others.

Usually in life, in those “2 extra minutes”- if we had waited, we would find the blessing is right around the corner. The Israelites only had to wait 12 days to go into the Promise Land, but because they couldn’t wait for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai, they made a golden calf and worshiped it, therefore prolonging their entrance to a land of promise by 40 years. Their “2 extra minutes” were 12 days that turned into 40 years. They weren’t impatient with God and therefore created a self-made problem. 

Let’s be cognizant of the “2 extra minutes” in our lives and not give into them, but rather, continue to wait and exercise patience to trust God and not give up too early.

Happy Friday!