Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!  Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!  Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.  For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.  Psalm 37:7-9 ESV

We live in a very busy world.  When I worked for probation and parole I was always in a hurry.  I had lots of things to get done in what seemed to be very little time.  I thought I didn’t have time for church, I was wrong.  I thought I didn’t have time for daily prayer and bible reading.  Again, I was mistaken.  I learned that if I would just put God first that he would work all these other things out.  So I did and He did.  But learning to be patient is taking a little longer.

You see, I went from this hurry, hurry, hurry world to caring for my mom who has dementia.  Things move very slowly in the world of a dementia patient.  I often feel as though my life is in slow motion.  I thank God for every moment that I am still able to share with my mom, but I think about my mom the way she was ten or fifteen years ago.  She was a very busy, go, go, go type woman.  Her world has slowed drastically.  The Bible has a great deal to say about patience.  It has become a nasty eight letter word in today’s society.  My dear friend tells me you should never pray for patience as you may be tested in that area in order to teach you patience.

All I know is that learning patience is not fun, but I’m doing the best I can.  I also know that with God’s help I can do all things through Him that gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).  Having patience in our day to day life is hard enough.  There are people you will encounter during the day that are driving 20 in a 55 mile per hour zone.  There are those at the grocery that are in the express line with a whole shopping cart full of items.  These are things we encounter each and every day.  But we also have to have patience when waiting on the Lord.  You see, God doesn’t do things in our timing, he does things in His timing.  Now, if you are in a close relationship with the Lord you have probably already learned one thing, His timing is always perfect.  I have learned this the hard way a few times.  I have tried to rush certain things like getting a new job, only to be disappointed. But when God was ready for me to move on from my job, it was perfect timing.  The transition was smooth and I loved my new job.  Also it allowed me to retire much earlier than if I had gotten the job that I originally wanted. You see God knew that once I retired, my family would need help.  I would have an infant niece who would need someone to sit in the hospital round the clock and my sister and my niece would need an extra person to help.  God knew that not long after He healed my niece that my dad would get sick and die within 6 months.  God know that my mom would go through a hard time after losing my dad and eventually get dementia and need constant care.  God has been so good to me even at times when I thought He was punishing me.  He knows the plans he has for us and He has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11).  But sometimes, we have to wait patiently for it to happen.

The Bible has a lot to say about patience, but perhaps the hardest time for us to be patient is during times of tribulation.  Especially when we see our enemies seeming to prosper and do well.  We will face times when our enemies will be living the good life while we suffer.  We are instructed to continue to due good and are promised that if we don’t give up that in due time we will reap our harvest (Galatians 6:9).  We are told in Philippians 4:6 not to be anxious or worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication combined with thanksgiving to let our requests be made known to God.  The hardest part of patience is trust.  We have to trust that God is working on our behalf even when we can’t see anything being done.  Romans 8:25 tells us that if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

I don’t know about you, but my impulsiveness and impatience has caused me a great deal of problems.  Buying that new car when I really didn’t need that new car note has been a downfall several times.  Buying a few hundred dollars worth of clothes that I didn’t need when I could have been saving that money was not so wise.  Americans are facing tremendous amounts of debt today because they can’t wait for the things they want.  Looking back I could have simply saved the money.  God has blessed me in spite of my stupidity.  How could I not trust Him?  I have learned that if I first pay my tithe that God takes care of all the rest.  He will also give me that gentle nudge when I am overspending.  I have learned that if I don’t want regrets, that I should pay careful attention to that.

Remember that patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  We know that God is patient because He has been so patient with us.  I think about the years that I was backslidden and not putting God first in my life.  I had Jesus on a back burner and how that must have hurt Him.  But praise God, He was patient with me.  He was right there every time I needed Him and stayed there patiently waiting every time I messed up.  He stayed there with open arms until I finally came to my senses (1 Peter 2:19-23).  I am so grateful that He is so patient.  And knowing that He is so patient, what gives me the right to be impatient with my brother or my sister?

Think about this, God has been and still is patiently waiting for you to come to Him.  I often wonder why God has not come back as horrible as the world is today, but I know why.  He is patiently waiting for everyone to be able to know about Him.  He is waiting for everyone to have the opportunity to come to Him.  Matthew 24:14 tells us that the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations.  And then the end will come.

God has been so patient with us, my friend.  He has demonstrated a great deal of patience.  He demonstrates this for us, so that we can learn from His example.  If we aren’t smart enough to learn from His example, He will sometimes use some pretty harsh circumstances to teach us.  I pray that it doesn’t come to that for you.

Have a great day!