Hey Bestie! It’s time to learn how to practice delayed gratification.
Practicing delayed gratification helps you to be your most authentic self. Did you know that your true self is actually spirit? When God created you, he made you in his image after his likeness to have dominion.
God is spirit so your true self is spirit as well. You also possess a soul and a body.
If you are going to live a life of authenticity, you will need to learn to prioritize your life based on who and what you are. And practicing delayed gratification can help you to do so.
This post will be all about how to practice delayed gratification. Are you ready? Let’s geaux!
What Is Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification is your ability to resist immediate pleasure for a more valuable reward later on. It’s switching from “I want it now” to “I can wait to have that”.
Believe it or not, your spirit is trained by delayed gratification because it trusts God. It knows that when you’re supposed to have something, you will have it.
Your spirit doesn’t wonder “when” because it knows that God, your Source, has already supplied everything you need.
Delayed gratification requires a degree of maturity that very few have. It’s easy to have instant gratification because it surrounds you at every turn. But your life’s calling is worth more than momentary gratification.
You may be wondering why God is making you wait. Can I suggest that the time shouldn’t be used wondering when “it” will happen?
Your time should be used to break old habits and relearn the original purpose of why you were created.
Take the time to learn the culture of Heaven and unlearn the culture of this world, so that you can thrive as your authentic self and take up your position as king.
The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he gave to man(Psalm 115:16 ESV).
What if throughout your waiting season, God has been delaying your gratification to show you who you really are?
Why Is Delayed Gratification Important
Learning how to delay your impulses is a necessary practice of a Kingdom citizen (Philippians 3:20-21 ESV) . How many times have you followed your impulses only to regret them later?
The times when you slipped up on your diet, when you didn’t go to the gym, when you answered that late night text or spent the money you were saving.
All of those moments were temporary impulses to an internal need masked as a craving. Usually in the physical body, when you crave a certain food like chocolate, your body doesn’t actually need the chocolate.
Your body may just be hungry or in need of magnesium. But because you’ve practiced giving your body chocolate, it craves it to fulfill the need you have.
Even when you get angry at someone, most of the time, it can be because they triggered something in you. The anger may seem like it towards the person, but its actually a deeper issue.
In this case instant gratification would tell you to give that person a piece of your mind while delayed gratification may lead you to sit with God to see why you were triggered.
Delayed gratification is important because it helps you to not only learn about yourself, but to think about why you do what you do. It also helps you to unlearn bad habits and practice implementing new ones.
Think about how much better your life will be once you learn to put delayed gratification into practice.
What areas in your life do you need to practice delayed gratification?
The Incredible Benefits Of Delayed Gratification
There are many everyday benefits of delayed gratification. If you tap into your authenticity, you can experience the endless possibilities of them.
1. Prioritization
As humans, our priorities are all messed up. Most of us base our priorities around surviving in this world. You might be a person who is trying to keep your head afloat or one that is doing back strokes in the pool of life.
Wherever you are in life, God laid out one thing that every human should do first.
Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33 NIV).
Food, cars, clothes, homes, bills, and all the things you work so hard for were meant to be a by-product of your life. Do you realize that you’re not supposed to be “surviving”, but you’re supposed to be living?
When you prioritize your life and put Kingdom and righteousness first, the promise is that all things you worry about (and bust your butt for) will be added to you.
The word kingdom isn’t understood by most of us in the western world. Churches all around the globe preach about the Kingdom without understanding what a kingdom is.
A kingdom is a country ruled by a king, who influences and impacts the domain of his kingdom personally with his values, morality, lifestyle, principles, and laws to create a culture that reflects his lifestyle (Myles Munroe).
The original purpose of God creating mankind was so that man can rule the physical world through invisible influence. Let me break this down.
Because you came out of God, you are just like him. You are not only spirit, but you are also a king, a lord, and a god.
This is what he meant by “let them have dominion” in Genesis 1:26. He loved you so much that he gave you complete rulership over this realm.
The first man Adam fell from dominion which is why Jesus came in the flesh. He restored everything Adam lost and brought back the government, the Kingdom of God, to Earth.
You were always supposed to be royalty living a life where you can control your circumstances. This is why he says to seek first the Kingdom of God and it’s righteousness.
He is trying to help you to recognize what’s really important.
The reason behind the visible and invisible is Kingdom and you can live in it now. You don’t need to go to Heaven because the Kingdom is here on Earth.
2. Repentance
The word repent simply means to change your mind. Your perspective of your situation needs to change ASAP. Only you know the specific situation that you need to look at differently.
Something that’s crucial in changing your mind is gratitude. I like to think of it as letting God grab your attitude. When you complain, you’re complaining is directly against God (Numbers 14:26-30 ESV).
Instead of complaining, begin to thank God for everything and I mean EVERY THING. Thanking God for everything will change your perspective. It will help you to realize that you own nothing and that God is Lord.
In a kingdom, a king owns everything and it’s a privilege to even be a citizen so there’s continuous thanks pretty much all day. It’s the same way in God’s kingdom.
This is the reason for the scriptures:
- Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise (Psalm 100:4 NIV).
- Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6 ESV).
When you begin to understand kingdom concepts, the Bible makes sense. The Bible isn’t about a religion called Christianity. It’s about a Kingdom, the King, His Kingdom, and His royal family (you and I).
3. A Renewed Mind
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2 NIV).
Most of the things in this world are backwards. They tell you to go to school and get a job because your dreams don’t pay the bills. You’re told to eat an immense amount of protein if you want to lose weight and stay full.
They tell you it’s okay to have sex before marriage as long as you love the person you’re with. You’re told to not be in touch with your emotions and if you do it’s not masculine. As a woman of color, you’re described as too loud and angry.
There’s men with men, women with women, so much in this culture that is so far away from God’s original design for humanity. This culture is the exact opposite of Kingdom culture!
Delayed gratification allows the Holy Spirit time to transform your mind to think and live like the Kingdom citizen you are. The only catch is that you have to let him.
4. Obedience
The word obedience has a stigma around it that many adults don’t like. But if you refuse to obey your Heavenly Father, why do you expect your children and/or employees to obey you.
You may be thinking “well because they are children or I’m their boss” but think about it, you’ll always be God’s child and below him in a sense. He is Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14 NIV).
You will be a child to God no matter how old you get. Obedience is for your benefit. You have no problem obeying your boss and the system that pays you so why not obey the One who has given you the Kingdom?
5. Self-Control
Self-control is not delayed gratification. It’s actually a benefit because it’s a characteristic you possess.
Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and if you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God is living inside of you.
The funny thing about the fruit of the Spirit is that people think these fruit are outside of their reach. People pray for love, joy, peace, patience, and so on not realizing that it’s already in them.
If you plant an apple tree into the ground and you’ve successfully cultivated the area for it to thrive, you don’t need to pray for the apples.
You were once a baby. Do you think that your parents or guardians prayed for you to grow into the teen or adult that you are (physically speaking)?
No. No one had to pray for you to grow because you were made to physically grow.
As you work the ground of your heart and cultivate it for self control, you will grow in it. Again practicing gratitude is a huge way to do this.
It’s up to you to do it because you build your own reality with the power of your words. You may not be able to change your external circumstances right now, but you can definitely change yourself inwardly.
What if your environment will only change depending upon how you’re able to change your mind? Growing in self control is only one of the fruits of the Spirit; practicing delayed gratification gives you the space to grow in more of them.
What Are Some Everyday Delayed Gratification Examples
- Saving for a vacation
- Biting your tongue when you’re angry
- Skipping out on foods that won’t add nutritional value to your body
- Going to college to get a degree
- Practicing your craft without earning money for it
- Waiting on the Lord to answer you in prayer
- Not saying “I told you so” even though they didnt listen to you
- Exercising
- Studying
- Disciplining your kids
- Learning about the Kingdom
- Investing time in a relationship
- Getting married and learning your spouse
- Renewing your mind
- Understanding yourself
- Learning to be intimate
- Getting to know God again
- Trying new foods
- Losing weight
- Forgiving someone or someone forgiving you
- Having sex
- Forgiving yourself
- Changing your diet
- Setting boundaries
- Training a dog
- Winning a reward
- Making a profit
- Building a house
- Growing a garden
- Fasting results
- Prayer
- Labor and meeting your baby
- Making new friends
- Getting pregnant
- Moving out of your parents house
- Healing from past trauma
- Living out your dream
How To Practice Delayed Gratification
The secret to practicing delayed gratification is slowing down. Slowing down will give you an awareness of God, yourself, and what really matters in life.
Every moment you give yourself to busyness, you’re actually missing out on living.
For we hear that there are some that walk among you disorderly, working not at all but are busybodies (2 Thessalonians 3:11).
If you’re not seeking the Kingdom and its righteousness first then you aren’t doing anything that truly matters. Seeking the Kingdom means to desire it, learn about it, to search for it, practice it, and live in it.
There’s nothing in this world that’s worth more than the Kingdom and you don’t have to fear because its the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32)
Bestie from this day forward my prayer is that you will no longer think you have to survive, but know that you can live free in the Kingdom of God here just as it is in Heaven.
You don’t have to wait to go to Heaven because Heaven has come to you. Don’t pass up this moment to practice delayed gratification. For what profits a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul (mind will and emotions).
If you want to live in the Kingdom here and now, you have to enter through the door. Jesus is the door (John 10:9)
Romans 10:9 says that all you have to do is confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.
Say this prayer aloud:
Lord Jesus I repent. I thank you for conferring your Kingdom unto me. I believe you lived, died, and rose again just for me. Transform my mind and prepare me to live the Kingdom here on earth like the Father originally intended. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
Bestie, you now have been saved and born into the Kingdom of God. Don’t stop here! Continue learning about the Kingdom by reading, listening, and living the word of God.
I recommend these YouTube Channels:
- Transformation Church
- Munroe Global
- Morgan Tracy J
- The Basement
- Melody Alisa
- Heather Lindsey
- Myles High Podcast
There are many many more! Go where God leads you.
Side Note: Don’t allow the enemy to steal this joy of the Kingdom from you. He doesn’t want you to get this message because he knows what the Kingdom is like.
He was kicked out so he will tell you that “its crazy, its not real, its a lie” and he will try to distract you with other things. Remember you have dominion over this earth realm and authority over Satan.
Thank you Bestie for reading this blog.
This post was all about how to practice delayed gratification.
Remember you’re destined to win because He got up!
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