If God is not in haste with you, learn not to be in haste with yourself.
People often long to reach perfection quickly. They become discouraged when they see how slowly they change and how often they return to the same weaknesses. But God does not shape the soul like a stone carved in haste; He cultivates it like a field, patiently preparing it to bear fruit.
Consider how patient God has been with you. How many times He has raised you after your falls, forgiven your forgetfulness, your coldness, and your weakness of faith. He never ceases to knock at the door of your heart, even when you delay in opening it.
If God has such patience with you, then be patient as well with the work of grace in your own soul and with the weaknesses of your neighbor. Haste is often the fruit of pride, which demands immediate results. Patience is the fruit of humility, which knows that every true growth comes at the time appointed by God.
Do not measure how far you still have to go. Give thanks to God that today He calls you to take one more step. The one who advances with patience and faithfulness will reach places that haste can never attain.
“The Lord… is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
