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.

________________
Till Next Time
God Bless
Amanda of Astria Legends

There is this blank sheet of paper staring at me and here I sit with a blank mind. I am waiting for the Lord to help me decide what to write. I am a blank canvas awaiting His nudge… but I feel nothing pouring forth. How often do I sit back and wait for the Lord? Mostly when I write and at times when I paint. I should when I pray but I get so worried that I will miss praying for someone that I had promised I would pray for, I end up giving the Lord various commands. Get so & so well, find him a job, comfort her, bring a Christian man into her life, save their house, find them a house, give them wisdom… my lists go on and on and on…until I fall asleep. Or I neatly wrap it up with “Your will be done”… did I really mean that?

Can you imagine how God must feel? I can’t. Did your little one ever want to eat something that would make them very sick or even kill them? My grandkids and I were talking about blowing bubbles one day and they asked me what would happen if they drank the liquid. I, being full of exaggerated stories (that they love) stated that if someone drank it, every time they burped, bubbles would come out of their mouth. I get a call the next day; the oldest 2 were in trouble for talking #3 into swallowing the bubble water during a bubble blowing play time. She threw up (did not burp bubbles)... Oops. My daughter could not figure out what made them do that. (I did confess)

(See how easily I get side-tracked. Happens to me when I pray too).

When we see one of those little ones go to eat something or grab something that could hurt them, we stop them immediately. They don’t necessarily understand. They think they should have it… and if they don’t get it they start crying or stomping. We don’t give in to them for their own good even if it makes us feel bad that they are crying. We know better. I wonder sometimes if that is how God feels?

We, or I should speak just for myself, I whine and tell God what I think is best yet He knows the end from the beginning. He knows what the end result is before the result happens. And if He listened to me, I would probably be throwing up like my #3 granddaughter. What I want may turn out to be the worst thing that could happen to me.

Years ago I did a Bible study on the word wait. I found that instead of being a passive word, it is active. It is to be expectant of something to come.

Our society is one of instant gratification… and you have to admit it is everywhere in the United States (I cannot speak for other countries). Waiting annoys us. We get crabby in grocery lines, we shop online so as to avoid the Christmas crowds, and we get inpatient with slow service in a restaurant. And who enjoys waiting in a laundromat? We are just expecting it all as soon as possible!


But God is not trapped in our time line. He has His own that is not measured the way we measure. His timing is perfect. Which is why waiting on the Lord, is the best way. And I do find my best times of prayer is when I wait on Him to guide me and trust He knows the rest that lays heavy on my heart. I will wait upon the Lord, my soul waits and on His word I will put my hope (Psalm 130:5).

Another way I could put it is I will expect from the Lord from the depths of my soul and always with the hope I have found in His word.


(above is an original art print by EllieLee)

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