I am learning that the one thing that you never ask God for
is patience, because he seems to willingly provide/allow situations that test
your patience when you ask for it! All
in all, patience is a good thing, but to become patient (or long-suffering as
the word is translated) usually you have to go through trials and gain life
experience to get there. That is not high on
anyone’s list!
So you might be asking, if it is such a pain to obtain, why
seek it? It appears that whenever you
are patient, it has some sort of a negative connotation and it is magnetic for
trouble. Whether it is patience with a
hostile family member, patience in waiting for a job, patience with waiting on
God, it seems that the expense is always on us.
But the truth is, there are a lot more positive outcomes than we would
realize…
I am going to summarize/quote some scriptures that I found
on patience and illustrate the positives in the storms that you might be
facing…
Romans 2:6-7 God gives eternal life to those who endure for his
glory. When you think that everything
that you are going through is in vain, think again! God sees that and he rewards it. A little bit of trouble now is worth an
eternity in heaven. But this is a sober
reminder that saying the sinner’s prayer does not guarantee an easy life, sometimes
it does just the opposite. Instead, it
gives you meaning and purpose to the adversity that you face.
Psalm 40:1- “I
waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” I understand God better when I am patient
because I take the time to listen for him.
I find myself hurrying through life sometimes, unable to take my foot
off the gas and unable to stop and listen to what is going on around me. Sometimes hearing God takes time and effort,
but it is worth it! That’s why we must
take the time to do it!
Psalm 37:7-9- We learn self control and to be at peace with
our circumstances when we are patient.
When I am still in the presence of the Lord and wait for him to act, I
realize that I can not control others and I can not be responsible for their
actions... but I learn to control how I react and I give myself time to react.
I acknowledge that God can influence them and I need to trust in his will, even
when it looks ugly.
This shifts our focus to God rather than our
adversaries. Easier said than done, I
know (I struggle with this), but only through enduring the trial to the end
will we be able to see the conclusion that God brings. On another note, while learning self control I
learn to not look like a 3 year old throwing a fit when I don’t get my way
because I am willing to wait rather than need to be gratified immediately.
1 Corinthians 13:4- Love is patient. It is the first quality that Paul uses to
describe agape (True Love). When you are
willing to be patient and loving, a number of things happen. When you love yourself and you are patient
with yourself, you have grace for yourself when you take a do not meet your own
expectations. You also do not let the
standards and time constraints that others force on you bother you.
When you are patient when starting a relationship, you
protect your heart by not rushing into a relationship prematurely and causing
more harm than good. You get to know the
person without giving it to the wrong person, and sometimes it is the right
person, just the wrong time. Either way,
patience frequently leads to fewer scars on your heart.
When you are patient in an argument with someone, you take
the time to understand them rather than jump to conclusions and say things that
hurt them. This happens in any
relationship, that is why we must be quick to listen and slow to speak.
I am sure I could do a post on each of these or list
numerous other verses, but I won’t drone on!
I hope that you can see how important patience is in the Bible from a
couple of different vantage points. Yes,
it can be a pain in the butt at times, but in the end, it is worth it. So remember, in any circumstance, be patient because as the old saying goes, haste makes waste!
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