I had the opportunity to reconnect with an old college friend recently, and we have messaged back and forth some. I shared a prayer request with him, and his response was worth blogging. He said, “Praying that God will grant you peaceful steadfastness and utmost confidence in him today as Provider. Oswald Chambers’ words today remind me that even as I pray, I am not praying for a ‘patch job’ on anything; we pray for ultimate resolution.”
All I could think about was how many times I had an issue in my life and tried to take care of it with a quick fix only to make it a bigger problem. I bet you have done the same. We get desperate and do something foolish because we are impatient. It’s like having a small wound that needs medical attention. We don’t want to go to the doctor, so we put a bandaid on it. The wound becomes infected, and we find that we need more medical attention than we did initially.
When my friend sent that reply, I found my wife and read it to her because I found the deep spiritual lesson there to be beneficial for us both. ULTIMATE RESOLUTION! Think about it! I don’t want a cheap or quick fix. I want God to ultimately resolve this thing so that I can know He did something miraculous, and I can give Him the credit!
For those of you who need a solution, don’t settle for a cheap fix. God wants to do better than that. Sometimes we must wait. In the end, it is worth the wait.
Matthew Winters (Honest Thoughts from a Pastor) 
You always bless me with your posts. I do so understand wanting a permanent resolution rather than a quick fix. With all the trials and challenges I have been faced with over the last year and still in the midst of them, I want a permanent resolution rather than a quick fix. I do also agree with you that when we get impatient, we attempt to fix the problem ourselves with a bandaid because we really cannot fix it at all. It is really in the Lord’s hands. I also find that when I reflect on some of my prayers to the Lord, they are for a permanent resolution. I see that after answers come and part of the “why” revealed. This is such a timely post for me because with all that I am going through I have God’s peace no matter the difficulty. Also, I am learning a deeper level of patience. The great part of where I am now is that even though I don’t have all the answers, I don’t have the fear and stress that was pushing me forward. My trust has deepened. Lol…as I type this I want you to know that it is still not like smooth sailing but the captain knows the way and how to get there. Thanks for your post.
Often, the permanent resolution we seek comes in the form of our own increased maturity. We are praying for things that we cannot handle right now. God knows that, so he withholds them. Over time, he builds us up so that we are ready to steward the answer in a way that both protects it and glorifies him.
I see that happening in my own life right now. Or at least I think that’s what’s happening. 🙂 Thanks for this post.
You make a great point about maturity. It is all about God making us more like Christ and doing what is best for us (not what WE think is best for us) to get us there.
Good post and reminders. I especially like the one about patience as I struggle with that a lot….like ” hey ?God, could you move a littler quicker on my prayer request! “. Thank you for sharing your walk of faith!
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Very good post. We must not settle for a quick fix but trust in what God is trying to do.
A quick fix is the equivalent of cutting your arm off to stop a bleed in the wrist. You just create a greater problem.
What great advice in the Lord with this reminder, Matthew! So often, we do get impatient and go for the quick fix, which usually doesn’t involve God at all. The result is generally not what we wanted…or needed. Go to the “Doctor,” let God in on the situation and help resolve the problem with Him!
Steve
Patience is hard!!
That’s the truth!