To Speed, Or Not to Speed - That Is the Question

“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” - Proverbs 16:32

When I read this verse from Proverbs, my first instinctual response is, “WHY??????”

Warriors are STRONG - they fight the battles others cannot. Warriors are BRAVE - they go to places others will not. Warriors are SKILLED - they strategize, practice their fighting, and train for battle in ways most are incapable of comprehending much less understanding.

Patient people are SLOW! They are slow to move both physically and mentally, and they are slow to make decisions.

How in the world Solomon - oh wisest of the wise - can you say patient people are better than warriors?

Mostly I ask this question in full selfishness because I am a warrior. As I have written about before, I am a woman of ACTION. It’s not in me to do nothing, and if something needs to be done - I’m the one you want in charge. I can either do it myself or I “know a guy” who can and will be able and willing to help me. I’m not one to join the bandwagon - I’m driving it! You can either jump on or get out of my way!

My Dad taught me this, and it has defined my life: “Forget the torpedoes - full speed ahead!” My annoyance levels skyrocket and my tolerance for glacial pacing plummets when trying to move with my natural momentum someone tells me to “Calm down,” “Relax,” “Slow down,” or “Stop.” I don’t have ANY of those speeds on MY gear shift.

In God’s Plans, I wrote that we make plans, and God laughs. Well, God must have thought it would be hilarious to pair me with a man who is my polar opposite. That’s right - my life with my husband is the living story of The Tortoise and the Hare! I truly believe it’s physically impossible for him to be on time, and my Mom always taught me that if you’re five minutes early, you’re already late! Then, as God was laughing with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I imagine He said something like, “Wait, wait, wait! Watch this one!” and blessed me with my daughter…who shares the EXACT SAME PROBLEM WITH TIME MANAGEMENT AS HER FATHER! That’s right - I got hit with a double-whammy.

It used to make me so angry and frustrated (ok - sometimes it still does). I remember one day when I was having a particularly hard time getting my daughter out the door for an appointment we had, I hollered, “Seriously? That’s what you got from your father?!” Of all the wonderful qualities he has, the ONE guaranteed to shave years off of my life from the stress is one of her most prominent traits from him (luckily, she got many of the other wonderful ones, too).

But - as I reflected on this proverb, God opened my eyes to a few truths.

Becoming a warrior takes patience. There is a lot of training involved, and the training is progressive. It takes time. You don’t show up one day in armor, go to war, and come out victorious. Even David, who kind of did just show up and take out Goliath, had years of training as a shepherd defending his flock from predatory beasts before he walked onto the battlefield that day.

The comparison at the heart of this proverb, however, is this: A warrior is like a confetti cannon - one shot, and it’s over. A warrior is like a single-use weapon. A patient person, on the other hand, is like a fondue fountain - a continuous and steady stream. Plus it’s multi-use (could be chocolate, cheese, caramel…you name it).

There is a time for everything as the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3 - even for warriors. We do need warriors (Ephesians 6). But, the one who TAKES the city then has to DEFEND it. Defending the city takes time, dedication, and patience.

We can defeat Satan ONCE - that’s easy. But to continuously say no to all of the illusionary delights of this world? That is HARD. Because our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), how can we ever hope to win?

Habakkuk 2:4 says, “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.”

We win by holding up the Shield of Faith.

Our faith is patience in action.

By faith, we continue to pray even when we don’t see results. By faith, we continue to trust God will do what’s best for us even when we don’t understand His ways. By faith, we believe there is a God even when we can’t physically see Him. By faith, we live our lives in the image of God even as the world is against us.

Patience pays off, and the yields are far greater than the instant gratification the world and Satan offer. The payoff for us, when everything we do is for the glory and kingdom of God, is eternal life (so epic we can’t even imagine it) with The Creator.

Patience, as Lexi wrote, is a superpower. So, let us be patient.

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” - Psalm 130:5

AMEN