The Right Things Done the Right Way
Patience is often the price of permanence.
A daily devotional adapted from The Drive podcast
Years ago, a well-known study was conducted involving children, marshmallows, and the ability to wait. Each child was given a choice: eat one marshmallow right now or wait for an unspecified amount of time and receive a better reward later.
As cruel as that sounds, the results were fascinating.
Over time, researchers found that the ability to wait—to resist instant gratification—was closely tied to long-term success, emotional health, and life stability. And while science may confirm it, scripture has taught this principle from the very beginning.
Patience is not optional in life. It is foundational.
Wanting Good Things the Wrong Way
We all want good things—wealth, connection, success, love, peace, happiness. The problem is not what we want, but how we try to get it.
C.S. Lewis once said that evil is often the pursuit of something good in the wrong way. That insight explains so much of human struggle. From the Tower of Babel to modern life, the pattern repeats itself: reaching for heaven without waiting on God.
God’s way almost always takes longer. It requires trust, effort, humility, and restraint. But shortcuts, while tempting, come at a cost. They produce outcomes that cannot sustain themselves.
Shortcuts Undermine the Foundation
Think about how easily corners can be cut.
Grades can be earned through effort—or cheated for.
Relationships can be built patiently—or rushed into without a foundation.
Respect can be earned through character—or forced through fear.
Problems can be faced and healed—or numbed and avoided.
The shortcut often feels easier in the moment, but it never builds the structure necessary to hold what we want long-term. Without integrity, patience, and discipline, whatever we gain eventually collapses under its own weight.
Christ showed us this perfectly when He was tempted in the wilderness. Each temptation offered Him something He would eventually have anyway—food, followers, power—but in the wrong way and at the wrong time. He refused every shortcut and chose patience, obedience, and trust in the Father’s timing.
Waiting Is Evidence of Trust
As parents, we don’t always give our children what they want the moment they want it—not because we don’t care, but because we care deeply. We want them to grow strong enough to handle the very things they desire.
God treats us the same way.
When answers don’t come quickly, when progress feels slow, and when waiting becomes exhausting, it may not be a sign of neglect. It may be evidence of divine care—God shaping us into people capable of sustaining what He intends to give us.
Waiting refines character. It builds confidence, strength, peace, and freedom from fear.
Today’s Daily Challenge
Today, pause when you feel tempted to cut a corner.
Ask yourself:
What is the long-term cost of this shortcut?
What foundation am I building—or undermining?
Is this worth sacrificing my integrity, peace, or growth?
Then choose the harder, slower, right way.
Trust that God’s way—though demanding patience—leads to outcomes that last.
––––––––––––––––––
Thanks for taking a moment to reflect today.
For daily devotionals and episode topics, visit
https://joshdowns.com/daily-devotionals
For gospel-centered lessons designed specifically for teens, explore
https://joshdowns.com/come-follow-me-for-teens
