Daily Devotional for Tuesday December 28, 1999

Being Patient

(Romans 12:12)

Being patient. One of the virtues that I am most lacking would have to be patience. I have a difficult time waiting, sitting back, not moving forward. While God wants us to be active, to be busy about our life and work for Him, there are times and situations that call for us to be patient. There are times and situations when we just have to wait on Him. It takes spiritual discernment to be able to know whether we should be moving forward on something, getting more involved, or just allowing God to do His work. Again, just as in hearing God's voice, having this kind of discernment requires that close, intimate daily contact with the Lord to know what we should do. From my experience, let me give you a few things I have learned about waiting on God.

In those big decisions in life, where to live, where to work, who our spouse will be, where we should go to college....those major decisions that can dramatically change our life....waiting on God is critical. That doesn't mean we sit in our room with the curtains drawn, waiting for a lightning bolt from the sky. It means we move forward, but slowly, watching the signs God gives us along the way, not trying to force our will into the situation. God is really good about letting us know when we are headed in the wrong direction, but it requires us to WANT to hear him. So often we want something so bad, we try to make God point us in the same direction. I am not saying that our will and His will aren't the same at times, but they are also different at times. You must be willing to put your will aside and try to see what God wants. He will guide you, closing doors to show you that is not the right path to walk down, and opening doors to show you that is the path He wants you to walk down. Patience is waiting on God to show us His way instead of simply doing it our way, and hoping God approves.

Of course, there are many circumstances where patience is the only option. These would involve other people. You are not responsible for the actions of anyone but yourself, and you CANNOT change another person's heart. Only God can do that. In those cases where others are involved, patience is your only option because it usually requires God moving on the heart of another. These are the times when your faith is tested. You must draw closer to the Lord for support instead of pulling away, and trust that He is in control. These are most difficult, because it is so easy to just give up. But trusting God is what this life is about, and being patient while God works out those complicated situations in our life are what makes us strong and mature spiritually.

I will be praying for you today to find the patience you need in your life to wait for and trust God. Patience is actually a test of our faith because we are saying "I trust you God and will wait on you to move". I love you and am praying for you to be patient today in those circumstances that require God to move in your life. Never forget that His timing is perfect and is seldom our timing. Be patient and wait on God!