“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.” Nehemiah 2:4

I’ve always been impulsive; whatever thought I have usually spills out of my mouth before I even think to filter it.

Once, when I was lamenting to my spiritual director about the mess I’d made by speaking up to quickly about something, she said, “Patience is the partner of wisdom.” I’ve always yearned for wisdom. But I am in deep trouble if I have to master patience in order to achieve it.

When the king in Nehemiah 2:1-8 asks Nehemiah what he wants, Nehemiah knows it’s a pivotal moment. He also knows he’s not fully equipped to answer. So, he goes to The One who is and prays to God for guidance.

That heartbeat of a moment, pausing and seeking guidance from God, produces twofold success: Nehemiah finds the right words to respond, and the ears and heart of the king are opened to hear them.

The result? Not only does the king grant Nehamiah’s request to return to Judah, but he writes letters of safe passage to the governors of each town he’ll travel through. He also sends him with army officers and calvary.

All of that fruit came about from that one moment of stopping to seek the guidance of the Lord. Imagine?

It reframes what patience looks like, taking it from a long and arduous span of time that we have to hold back emotion and our impassioned response – to a fragment of time offered to God. He’s the magician and miracle maker, He can take that small increment and work wonders within us: either dousing the flame of urgency to respond, or transforming whatever we’re going to say or do to the exact right thing that will result in more good than we could ever imagine.

Questions for Reflection:

*Am I so impulsive that I react immediately to whatever happens?
*Can I take a fraction of a second and turn to God for the right response?