Accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.
It always seems when we ask for patience we start experiencing situations where we need lots of it. Our definition doesn’t say we maybe will have difficult situations. I think it is a given that living in a fallen world like we do, we WILL have difficult situations. How we handle these situations says a lot about our closeness to God.
When those trials come how do we handle them?
The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, or calamity with a calm, unruffled temper. (Noah Webster; definition)
Is this how we handle difficult situations?
What then can we do when hard times come and we just want to fall on our faces and cry. We can start by seeking God. The Psalmist says in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” When we have that horrible day when life just seems to be caving in, we can seek Him. He will be with us.
In seeking God, we can use our Bible to learn more about Him and bring Him closer to us. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalms 119:11) In hiding His Word in our heart, our peace becomes stronger and our patience increases. The hard times seem less daunting and we know God is on our side.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible was written by a man who knew how to live patiently.
Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who not only was thrown in a dungeon for much of his ministry but he also seemingly never had much fruit from his preaching. Yet, he didn’t give up and he recognized God’s hand in his ministry.
In Jeremiah 29:11 he said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Jeremiah knew that no matter what circumstance he was in, God was in control. This gave him not only a peace but also patience to wait for each trial to pass. And what did he do while waiting for the trials to pass? He preached the Word. He lived consistently for God and he didn’t forget Who was with him.
I believe if we wait on God, during good times and bad, and if we show others we are being patient then we will succeed in life. Isaiah 40:31 explains this well. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Have you ever watched an eagle soar through the sky? The power of the eagle can be shown in us when we trust God for everything. People will see our strength, our power and want to soar with us.
Patience brings a peace that no trial can take from us. We are human and it may still be hard to embrace trials but not impossible with our God beside us. I learned a chorus as a child that I often sang (and still sing) to myself.
Have patience, have patience.
Don’t be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient,
You only start to worry.
Remember, remember,
That God is patient, too.
And think of all the times,
When others had to wait on you.
(Author Unknown)
Lord, may I find patience today in my heart and in my home.
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:” Romans 5:3,4
This was another excerpt from my upcoming book. You can find many such devotionals here. Also if you need a certain topic, you can us the search icon in my blog. My goal is to help others while I’m encouraging myself in day to day living.