The "P" Word (Patience)

“From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:1–7, NRSV)

I am an impatient person. On a recent visit to a retreat center (St. Benedict’s), it was time for me to check out. But no one was on duty at the front desk and I needed to return my key.

Then, I noticed a bell on the front desk. A sign next to the bell said, “If you need help, ring the bell.” So, I did. And then I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, I tapped the bell again, respectfully, not aggressively. After all, I was in a place of retreat and worship. But when I tapped the bell the second time an old priest sitting nearby came to the desk and said, “Patience, brother, patience.” I was, I guess showing my impatience.

But I think impatience is universal in our society. We don’t know how to wait for anything. We have a hard time waiting for one another. We get impatient with our leaders, and we quarrel among ourselves. But we have an even harder time waiting on God.

When we pray we expect an immediate favorable answer from God. When we don’t get what we want or need we quickly grow impatient. Some may even begin to doubt that God is listening at all and we may begin to lose faith. It’s hard not to be impatient.

The good news is that God does want to bless us—at the right time and in the right way. God wants to bless us abundantly like he did Moses and his people with the manna from heaven and the water from a rock. But we have to be patient. We need to learn patience.

Fear not, in God’s time and in God’s way blessings will flow to us like the water that gushed from the rock in the desert.