Patience.  This is the virtue that we often do NOT have time for.
“I have had it!”
“My patience is running thin!”
“Ain’t nobody got time for this!”
Have you heard any of these sayings or said them yourself? I know I have.
This morning’s scripture reading included Psalm 90:4,

To you, a thousand years is like yesterday, like a few hours in the night.

When I read this verse and the surrounding verses aloud, Tim made a comment on patience. Patience.  Ugh!
I have friends who are trying to find a job they are passionate about and pays what they are worth, friends in the process of finding a new home, loved ones deciding what to do with their future regarding school and/or job, people trying to get pregnant, and this list goes on and on. So when I read that a day is like a thousand years to God, my mind either goes, “Really, God? One day for me is like a blink in your eye? How. Long. Do. I. Have. To. Wait???” Or “Okay, God, you’ve got this.  Help me to hold on to You and just breathe. Guide me or ______ in the direction I/they need to go. Give me/us discernment and wisdom to know what to do in the midst of this process. Help me God to make the most of my time in the waiting.”
God is in the waiting.
There are a surplus of scripture that mentions patience.  I’ll mention just a handful in this journal entry. I want to encourage you to always seek scripture for anything you are going through.  

Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. Romans 12:12 ERV

Notice that we have hope, and because of this hope choose happy. Don’t give up when things get tough. Pray even harder.

But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. Romans 8:25 NASB

Good things are to come, my friend.  When you stick with God, there WILL be glory in the end. Zestfully wait.  I know…it is hard to wait…but maybe, just maybe, God is trying to show us greatness in the meantime. Open your eyes, put on your God Goggles, and embrace the little things in life along the way. One day, you will be able (I pray that you do) to look back and connect the dots in your life.  I can testify that when I stop and ponder over the experiences in my life, I can see where God was leading me through it all. Remember…God knows your future, and He has great plans for you!

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NASB

Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

We often get exasperated with waiting, and we take the reigns from God and make things happen on our own.  So…how’s that turned out for you? I’m not saying we are to just sit and do nothing while God does it all.  No, He wants us to be proactive, yet seeking Him the entire time. He will show you the right way to go. Again, put on those God Goggles and look for His gentle whisper (or even a loud thunder) through song, His word, nature, sermons, etc. Give those reigns back to God and trust in Him.
Oh me of my…do you remember the story about Abram and Sarai? Let’s take a trip down memory lane in Genesis (the beginning…yep, we people have always had an issue with patience), and see how God shows up:

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and live the right way. If you do this, I will prepare an agreement between us. I will promise to make your people a great nation.” Then Abram bowed down before God. God said to him, “This is my part of our agreement: I will make you the father of many nations. I will change your name from Abram to Abraham, because I am making you the father of many nations. I will give you many descendants. New nations and kings will come from you. Genesis 17:1-6

God said to Abraham, “I will give Sarai, your wife, a new name. Her new name will be Sarah. I will bless her. I will give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many new nations. Kings of nations will come from her.” Abraham bowed his face to the ground to show he respected God. But he laughed and said to himself, “I am 100 years old. I cannot have a son, and Sarah is 90 years old. She cannot have a child.” Genesis 17:15-17

God said, “No, I said that your wife Sarah will have a son. You will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him that will continue forever with all his descendants. Abraham and Sarah were very old. Sarah was past the right age for women to have children. So she laughed to herself and said, “I am old, and my husband is old. I am too old to have a baby.” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Sarah laughed and said she was too old to have a baby. But is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come again in the spring, just as I said I would, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” At exactly the time God said it would happen, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Abraham named his son Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. Sarah said, “God has made me happy, and everyone who hears about this will be happy with me. No one thought that I, Sarah, would be able to have Abraham’s child. But I have given Abraham a son, even though he is old.” Genesis 17:19,18:11-14,21:2-3,5-7

Even though Sarah had her doubts and laughed at God about His plan, she ended up becoming a woman of faith, was listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, and became the mother of a nation and an ancestor of Jesus!  
And Abraham, he wasn’t always so faithful. He even had a way of twisting the truth at times, yet God still chose him to serve God’s purpose, and Abraham’s faith pleased God and didn’t go unnoticed.
God will use us, even with all our faults.
Oh, there were times when Sarai took things into her own hands, because she got tired of waiting. (Genesis 16). She even had Abram sleep with another woman who bore him a son. The drama that ensued. Yikes! That didn’t work out so good.
Y,all, when we are a believer in Jesus Christ, we have patience in us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Utilize it and be strengthened by each fruit.
Now let’s see an example of impatience:

While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

I’ve been known to be a Martha and a Mary.  Martha had lost patience with her sister because Martha was running around like a chicken with its head cut off preparing for Jesus and making sure everything was just right, while Mary was just chilling at Jesus’ feet.  I can just imagine Mary sitting at his feet, gazing intently into His eyes, and being captivated by every word Jesus uttered. She was truly soaking up The Son! Friend, Jesus doesn’t want us to get things right before coming to Him.  He wants us to be still and have a relationship with Him.
When I just reread those verses, I had to chuckle at Martha TELLING Jesus what to do.  Guilty. Right here. Martha said, “Tell her to help me!” Then we read the words, “BUT the Lord…”.  Many of times, in the waiting, patient or not, you may notice those “But God” moments. Embrace them.  Embrace Him.
Although we may run low on patience, we need to remember that God’s got all the time in the world. He’s got this!  He’s got YOU!
I pray that whatever you are going through, seek Him in the process, wait with great delight in what He has planned for you.  Will it be hard? Absolutely, but worth it in the end. To God be ALL the glory.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie

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