Hebrews 6: 12-14.
THOUGHTS
Why is it we are so quick to pray for so many of the fruits of the spirit but when it comes to praying for patience, we tend to shy away. Patience is one of the hardest virtues to overcome. Why? Because we are in a 'Get it Right Away' world, a world that is sometimes so fast paced that we need God to stop us dead in our tracks and say "Just wait."
Remember when you were little and you would try to steal from the cooking area before dinner was done and your mom would smack the back of your hand and say 'wait until its done'. The consequences of eating undercooked food could be anywhere from a stomach ache to full blown food poisoning.
Patience to WAIT
It is the same thing with God and the things that we pray for. Getting them prematurely would cause us spiritual illness. This is why patience is such an important thing when it comes to God and his Will for our lives. We must be WILLING to let go and 'let God handle it'. Resisting the urge to take matters in our own hands, because all we do is make a mess of it!
We must remember that the greatest blessings are not always the doors that God opens for us... but the many doors he closes. A closed door can mean protection against something we couldn’t handle, a wall to keep us from steering the wrong way, a barrier to keep us from danger and harm, or even a tree to keep us moving in line with His will. Its a learning experience to help us grow and mature into what He really wants us to become and know that true love comes only through Him.
God is always working on our behalf, even when we don't realize it. We don't know that the whole time He is telling us to "Wait here..." He is moving the mountains down the road, touching the hearts of those who will bless us, removing the devil's traps, covering the potholes and making all those crooked paths straight.
While faith is believing what is unseen, patience is "totally surrendering the control of your life" so that God can move anyway He wants, in the time frame that He decides. You are willing to let God take as long as He wants to because you have the FAITH that He will not let you down. Faith and Patience go hand in hand. You cannot say you have one and not the other. And often the measure of your Faith will be in proportion with the level of patience that you have. Because the moment you stop being patient and take matters into your own hands without God's approval, the amount of Faith you have that God will move, diminishes.
How many times do we jump into decision making without praying and receiving God's 'Yay' or 'Nay'? God's word says that we are to pray about ALL things! So many times we may have had a better turn out with a decision if we first waited for God to get on the bandwagon and spread favor over us. Or if we only prayed and heard His 'No', we wouldn't have ended up in a bad situation, crying out for God to get us out of it. It pays to be Pray and be Patient...with the Faith to know that He will answer us.
PRAYER
Dear Lord we pray for greater patience when it comes to waiting for you to move on our behalf. Let us not be quick to run and make our own decisions without first getting your approval. Allow us to have the faith to know that you will come through right on time and Your way is better than our way. Your Will is best for us. Let us be patient enough to wait for Your perfect destiny for us to unfold. We ask these things in Your son Jesus name. Amen.
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Till Next Time
God Bless
Amanda of Astria Legends
Comments (13)
Thank you for sharing :) I needed this reminder!
Perfect reminder for a troubled world and a busy season. Thanks so much, Amanda.
Oh, very good Amanda! Thank you for the reminder. Patience really is a difficult thing isn't it? I believe it is because we are selfish and think that our time is most important.
This is probably the thing I struggle with the most. I am getting better about it though. Having to wait two weeks on professors to grade my assignments really helps! :)
Such a wonderful reminder and a great message. ^_^ Thank you for sharing and reminding us all to wait in God.
Hugs,
Elfie
I intend to read this post and the Sunday Scripture from yesterday - Be Still and Know I am God - every day. Thank you!
♥♥♥
Sue
Amen Sister (as my husband would say!) Thank you for a wonderful word and reminder for us less than patient ladies!
AnnMarie
Great message. Patience is a virtue so many people lack these days.
We want to be patient but don't want to go through what it takes to learn how.
Thank you :) I struggle with this every day... but I haven't given up on it yet :)
Thank you for the reminder, Amanda! Praying for patience is something I need to do on a regular basis.
Thank you for this post Amanda! I need to remember to be patient. Funny you always hear not to pray for patience or you'll be sorry. I like your post on praying for patience. I am prayinig for patience now!
there is such wisdom in this post. thank you for the reminder.
waiting is hard for all of us, because as i just learned in a beth moore study of esther this week, waiting suggests a longing for something. without longing, it is not 'waiting', it is just the passage of time.
i have things i have been praying for and waiting on the Lord to work for YEARS and i can say without a doubt that He has used these periods of waiting to grow my faith and develope patience in me as nothing else could.
and as we all know, God's timing is PERFECT!!
thanks for sharing this devotional with us.
blessings, castteam members!
karla
hebrews 13:8
wise counsel