Life is Short: Be Patient?
Patience can be such a difficult thing and yet something asked of us so frequently. I certainly fall short of God’s glory and often fear that he will give up on me. I find myself asking God not to let me go and all the while He is the one who loves me most. If anyone is giving up here it would be me. I would be the one who gave up on him and not the other way around. There is hope in his promise and grace in the one He sent to save us all, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
We are asked to wait for everything in life it seems, “wait for your turn, wait until your appointment, wait until you’re an adult, wait until you’re a parent and you’ll understand, wait for that perfect job, wait for the right spouse and even wait upon the Lord.” I believe we all heard those words encouraging each of us to wait and be patient. We can find ourselves in quite a mess when we decide to go against the grain and refuse to wait for the right time to do things in life. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer,” Romans 12:12.
When we put our hope and our trust in the Lord we receive strength to wait for Him to speak to us, guide us and bless us with that in which we strive to reach. When we fail to make the right decisions we must wait and let the consequences take their course and God will restore us in the right time. During these difficult moments when we are punished for our decisions it is by the love of God we overcome, learn and grow in faith. Just as a loving father disciplines his son, our heavenly father disciplines us as well (Hebrew 12:7). It is for our own good and out of love for his children that we are disciplined. “Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty,” Job 5:17.
Unanswered prayers can be amazing blessings. Trust in the Lord because He knows best and pray for His will to be done in all situations. Try to think of waiting as time for God to prepare and perfect your blessing; time to work out all the details, time to prepare you, develop you spiritually and to teach you to trust and rely on Him in all things. Hebrews 6:12, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
I pray that each of you find patience and the strength to wait for the Lord to answer your prayers. I pray you are steadfast in obedience. My prayer is that God fills you with hope so that you do not get discouraged. In your battle with patience or poor judgment; I pray you seek to trust in Him and be restored in the eyes of the Lord.
Psalm 25:5 (NIV)
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Filed under: Sock it to the devil!