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

My daughter has a habit of asking a question over and over again.  It doesn't matter if I give the same answer each time, she will continue to ask.  In some instances, I suspect she does this to get the answer she wants instead of the answer that I am giving.

Several weeks ago, we were working together one evening.  I was trying to quickly get a few orders shipped out and she was working on some homework.  She asked me a question and I gave the answer.  She asked again and I answered in the same way.  By the third time she asked, I grew impatient and showed it in the response I gave to her.

Afterwards I felt badly.  While she needs to learn to go with the first answer and leave it at that, she is also 6 years old and I'm, well.... I'm older. :)  I need to be more patient and I need to show that in my responses.

As I spent time in prayer the next morning, I prayed about this.  I asked God to forgive me and help me to always respond to my children more patiently.  It was then that it struck me.... how many times do I ask God the same question over and over again, but yet, he always is patient with me, kind and loving in all his responses.

In some instances, I think I miss his answers and in other times, I suspect I'm doing just as my daugher.  I keep asking the same question again hoping to get a difference response.  Either way, God is never impatient with me.  Ever.

God will never loses his patience with us and always shows his lovingkindness... regardless of our actions.  What a blessing!

Happy Sunday!
Melanie/Beads-N-Style