Patience, Grasshopper

Dear Friends,

If you are around me for more than about 10 minutes, one of the things you’ll notice pretty quickly is that I tend to be an impatient person. It shows up in how I drive, how I shop, how I eat, how I talk, and how I channel surf when watching TV. I’m not sure why I’m always in a hurry, but more often than not, I am. As you can imagine, this has created problems for me in life, mostly because things don’t always happen at the pace that I want them to happen - and the result is that I find myself struggling with impatience quite a bit.

This is especially true when it comes to having to wait on God. I know that God’s plans are best, and I know that God is the only one who can make His plans happen. The challenge comes when my timing and God’s do not line up. That’s what’s been happening for the past few weeks, and so this morning I found myself talking to God about it, and He reminded me of a few verses that speak directly to what I’ve been struggling with.

First, Exodus 15:11, which tells us: "Who is like You among the gods, O Lord - glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” Then Exodus 15:13 which says: “With Your unfailing love You lead the people You have redeemed. In Your might, You guide them to Your sacred home.” And finally, Exodus 15:17, which says: “You will bring them in and plant them on Your own mountain - the place, O Lord, reserved for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, that Your hands have established.” All of these verses give us great promises of what God will do - as they tell us He will redeem us, lead us, bring us, and plant us. The focus is all on God, and on what HE’s going to do for His people, and for His work.

On the other side of this equation is what we need to do. Listen to Psalm 27:13-14, which says: “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” This verse tells us our part of what needs to happen - and that is, we need to remember God’s goodness, patiently wait for Him, bravely follow Him, and let Him work.

This is hard stuff for those of us who are impatient. But it’s the best way for us to live our lives as Children of God, because it keeps the focus where it needs to be - on God, and on what His plans are. And that’s important for us to keep in mind, because God’s plans, and God’s timing are best. So today, join me in trying this out. Let’s pray for patience in waiting on God’s plans, and for bravery in following Him as those plans unfold.

Amen?

Daniel