Can You Be Eager and Patient At the Same Time?

• "For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope." - Galatians 5:5 (NIV)

• "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:25 (NIV)

Wait a minute. So, the Scripture is saying we are supposed to wait eagerly and patiently... at the same time? How does that work? Not easily, I'll say that much.

I've seen seasons of my life where I've waited too eagerly and made decisions I later wish I hadn't. I thought I could jump the gun on God's plan, and with my self-proclaimed wisdom, I thought I was making the right choices. As it turned out, only God knows our plan in its entirety, as well as the timeline of that plan, and I needed to follow His timing instead of my own.

On the other hand, in some seasons of my life, I have waited too patiently and let opportunities slip by me. I can attribute to this to crippling self-doubt and a lack of confidence in my abilities, and I have later come to regret not taking the chances I was provided because I held myself back from them.

When I finally grew tired of seeing months and years go by without progress and fulfillment, that's when I discovered the abundant life. The life that God envisions for us where we break free of the shackles of insecurity and run with boldness into faith, truth, and light. I strive to live my life this way now: boundless and unrestrained.

But what about in the periods of waiting? What about when the heaviest shackles of fear of the unknown wind themselves around our ankles? How are we supposed to embrace the abundant life then?

Enter: Patience and Eagerness.

I do believe that both elements can work together in harmony to satisfy the Lord's desire for us to trust His timing while also satiating our quest for ambition.

To be patient means to wait until you are called upon to complete a task or take your turn. Patience implies perseverance and strength in the periods of waiting. But to be patient is not to be idle. Patience does not mean warming the bench and twiddling your thumbs while the first-string players in your life chase after a victory.

Which is where we meet eagerness. To be eager is to be enthusiastic and cheering your teammates on, even though you may be sitting out this game. Your time will come with continued passion for the game. At the end of the day, we all play on the same team: the Lord's. And when one of us wins, we all win together. Eagerness is exhilaration and passion, but that excitement is contained, potential, waiting to be transformed into kinetic energy that moves God's plan for you and His vision for the world.

The two can work in tandem with continued trust that what the Lord is doing is good. Be patient for when the Lord reveals wisdom to you, but be eager to receive that wisdom in your heart. Cheer for your friends and loved ones in their victories, and they will surely celebrate yours. It may take extra patience to see yours come, but as the Scripture says, the Lord's plans are "to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)).

Learn how to balance these qualities in your lives, friends. It has taken me a while, but I write to you to tell you that you can have both. Good things are coming for you. Hope is the thread that binds your patience and eagerness, so have that hope and keep it strong.