Patience

I’m going to be honest; I’m terrible at being patient. I get frustrated with long lines, slow computers, and people who walk at a snail’s pace on the sidewalk but also take up the whole sidewalk so there’s no way to pass them. I also get impatient when I feel like God isn’t listening to my prayers. Doesn’t He know how much I need the thing I’m asking for? Doesn’t He care about my hurts and all that is wrong in the world? (The answer to both of these, turns out, is a resounding yes.) Although practicing patience is a battle, God has demonstrated it for us. Jesus, who is God, had to be patient with people during His ministry. Even though He told people who He was and what He came here to do, many peopleeven His closest friendsstill got confused about His purposes. They wanted someone who was going to come in and overthrow Rome, but that wasn’t the kind of king Jesus set out to be. In the same way, God is patient with us as He waits for our repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God continues to love us and wait for us, even if we’re ignoring Him. When we’re struggling to wait, we can go to Jesus, the true source of patience. The Holy Spirit enables us to have patience as we set our minds on God’s desires instead of giving into the temptation to be impatient (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:22-24). We wait on the Lord, who will fulfill His promises to destroy sin and death and restore all that is broken. Naomi Zylstra What’s something you do that requires patience? How does God’s patience with us affect your view of waiting? How does His promise to one day destroy brokenness help you wait? Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Ephesians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; James 5:7-8