So many studies and expert opinions today point confidently to delayed gratification as a major determinant of success and discipline. The ability to delay the satisfaction of certain desires greatly affects how good you will be with relationships, money, career and virtually every other area of life.
Finance coach and expert Lance Cothern shares, "The key difference between people with consumer debt and those without, everything else being equal, is that the person with no consumer debt has mastered delayed gratification while the person with consumer debt has not."
At the heart of delayed gratification is a biblical principle of patience that believers can and should all grow in.
Here are three tips to overcome impatience in a time when many people desire instant gratification.
1. Rejoice in Affliction Just as You Would in Pleasure
Romans 12:12 tells us, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
As Christians, our joy and peace is not determined by our circumstance of waiting but on the Person of Christ. This tells us that even when we don't see the promise fulfilled yet or the need met yet, we can still rejoice knowing that we have more than enough because now we have Christ.
2. Depend on God's Faithfulness, Not Yours
If we had to rely only on our own abilities and faithfulness, we would be pretty much hopeless. Our destiny and provision, howeverm do not depend on our faithfulness but on God's. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
God is gracious even when we do not hit the mark. All He asks is for us to trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross as the final authority and put our faith in God's grace and mercy.
3. Rely on the Holy Spirit
Patience is, at the end of the day, beyond us. Our broken and fallen flesh will always cry out for satisfaction here and now. But the good news is that God does not leave us ill-equipped. When we experience His in-filling through The Holy Spirit, He works in our hearts and imputes attitudes that make us more like Christ—one of which will include patience.
Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
God's Spirit empowers us to be patient even when our flesh cries out for instant results and gratification.
