Impatience often convinces us that we must act immediately. Yet the late Christian minister Derek Prince warned that moving ahead of God can produce consequences far beyond anything we anticipated.
“One of the things that I’ve observed in my own life and the life of many other servants of God is that most commonly our problems come through doing more, not less, than God said,” Prince taught.
Abraham faithfully followed God, but he also took a step God had never commanded. The problem was not a lack of obedience. It was an impatient attempt to help fulfill God’s promise through human effort.
“His problems came through doing something that God didn’t tell him to do,” Prince said. “And the root cause was impatience.”
The consequences extended far beyond Abraham’s lifetime. Prince urged Christians to remember what impatience cost Abraham and his descendants and allow it to become a lasting warning.
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Moses also moved before God’s appointed time. Raised in Pharaoh’s palace, he received the education and administrative experience he would eventually need to lead Israel. Yet at age 40, Moses attempted to confront injustice through his own strength. He killed an Egyptian and was forced to flee.
God then placed him in Midian for 40 years, where the former prince tended sheep in obscurity.
“God had to put him through 40 years of anonymity, exile, very humbling occupation,” Prince said.
Those years were not wasted. God was teaching Moses patience and preparing him to carry an assignment that human strength could never accomplish.
“God does not waste time, but He uses all the time that’s necessary to get the result He wants,” Prince said.
Our waiting seasons are not empty. When God keeps us in a place longer than expected, He is still working. We must resist the pressure to force His promises or add to His instructions.
Patience leaves room for God to act on our behalf. As Prince reminded believers, “He does a much better job on our behalf than we can do for ourselves.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
