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Learning Patience

Jerimiah 29:11 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” 

In my life, Patience has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn: an area that I am still learning how to navigate. A culture that is so consumed with instant dopamine, it’s hard to re-wire our brains to learn this concept. For me, it’s easy to compare myself with other people, and when other people have things that I don’t, it can lead to impatience. This can cause us to say things or do things that are out of character: and often times one of the first things that crumbles is our relationship with God. We trust God less when our present is uncertain, however if we can all adopt Patience, I think we can live a life that is less stressful.  

Looking at the verse, you might be thinking “I’ve seen this verse thousands of times”, however I think there is always something to learn. We know from the verse that God has a plan for our lives. Think of the last time you made a plan. You probably thought it through, organised details and thoroughly looked at the beginning, middle and end. The same is with God. Our lives have been written by the most sovereign author, and only He knows what the beginning, middle and end looks like. Who else is more qualified to trust if not Him? 

In situations where we lose hope, we can have confidence in the fact that it is not within God’s clock. Time is a creature of God, in the sense that it was made by God and is used by God. On numerous occasions, Time has been used as a means to test my faith. There is something about fully relying on God, that builds a resilience that can’t be replaced.  

It is easier said than done, but I think if we can meditate on the fact that God truly is sovereign over our lives, then we can learn Patience. (Galatians 5:22) tells us that Patience is a fruit of the spirit, meaning that we must first be rooted in God, to produce the fruit of Patience: it can’t be produced by our own works.  

Have you ever wondered why Patience is a fruit of the spirit? I’ve always associated Patience with simply waiting. But Patience isn’t merely the act of waiting: because there are times where we can be waiting in a stationary position. Patience isn’t also just letting time pass because it assumes that our timing is a sufficient means of a change in our circumstances. Patience is the acknowledgment of God’s timing. His timing is a sufficient means, and His timing deserves all of our trust. 

 

 

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