Hello & welcome back to a place of stillness in God’s Word. The next fruit on our list that comes from Galatians 5:22-23 is patience. As I was thinking and preparing with the Lord, I was conflicted. I can think of two topics to write about related to patience, and I couldn’t decide which one was best. By the Lord’s leading, I ultimately decided to just write about them both! You can read one or both. It’s totally up to you! The titles for the two topics will be bolded below (:
Patience with the Lord
This topic has been so prevalent in my senior year of high school. Right now I am thinking about colleges and my future (which is becoming more stressful by the minute!!). I have so many options for colleges, and it feels like there is no good option for me. Every time I come up with a new idea, the Lord makes it evident to me that I am not supposed to be there. Sometimes I just wish God would put a big sign right in front of me with flashing lights and a bunch of arrows saying “Abby needs to go to this school!!” because that would be really helpful.
I imagine I’m not the only one! Many of you probably feel this way about colleges, job opportunities, or other big decisions. Maybe you feel impatient with the Lord because He has not yet answered your prayer or you cannot seem to understand why He would do a specific thing in your life. I have walked through each of these scenarios before, and let me tell you, it’s HARD. I am not at all underestimating your scenario, because I totally understand why it is so easy to be impatient with the Lord.
But, our sovereign Lord and Savior knows exactly what He is doing. He has created a plan for us that is far greater than anything we could have ever imagined. Whether we are waiting for direction when it comes to a decision or answers to our prayers or reasoning for our situations, the Lord knows it altogether. Trusting in that great plan is hard. It is definitely one of those things that is “easier said than done”. But it is so important to be patient with the Lord and His timing because He knows what is best for each of us, and in His time, He will reveal His will for us.
“For there is a time and a way for everything, though man’s trouble lies heavy on him. For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?” Ecclesiastes 8:6-7
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Patience with people
I totally get it! Sometimes people can be difficult to work with. When you’re in a huge hurry, but everyone around you is just taking their time, or when you are relying on another person to do something, but they are just not coming through. I totally understand why you would be impatient with them.
This is why patience is a fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit! On my own, it is sooooo easy to be impatient with others and it never ends in good results! If you were in a rush and you rushed everyone around you, more than likely those around will not move too much faster than they already were. And on top of that, they probably won’t like you as much anymore because of how you rushed them. (Important Side Note: your identity is not found in how much others like you, but it’ll definitely make it harder to share the gospel with someone who doesn’t like you). Anyways…
Impatience with others causes us to lose our ability to effectively love others. If God’s Word commands us to love others, but we are constantly impatient with others, how on earth are those people ever supposed to know how loved they are by the Father?? If we are patient with one another, we are showing just how much we care for them and consequently how much we love them because of the love Jesus has for them.
This is not an easy task, but it is an important one! We need help from the Spirit to best be patient with others. After all, God was patiently pursuing us when we chose sin over Him. Let this inspire us to patiently love others, even when they don’t necessarily deserve it.
Beloved people, let us be ever so careful to be patient with the Lord’s timing and with those that we interact with. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will empower you to patiently pursue Himself and the good of those around you. (: