PATIENCE....PATIENCE!!!!!
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
- Romans 2:4
I am not, by nature, a patient person. I guess I am better than I used to be, but that is not saying a lot. I am like my infant granddaughter....I want what I want, when I want it. Period. I may act like I'm accepting my circumstances when they are less than desirable, but deep in my heart I know I cry out for what I really want.
Luckily, we are the children of a God who has infinite patience. I know that for a fact, because He has shown infinite patience with me. He still does. Paul David Tripp says it this way:
"Again, most of us don't like to wait, but our God, in grace, is willing to wait. We want life to be a series of completed events; God is willing to live with incompletion until his work is finally done. We want what we want, and we want it now; God is willing to invest now in things that will be enjoyed only in the future. To be in tune with who God is and what he is doing means having to wait, and having to wait reminds you that you are not in charge."
I am not in charge. That is a pretty profound statement. It kind of goes against everything we are taught in a secular world doesn't it? You know the things we have heard from kindergarten: "You control your destiny....it's all up to you......you chart your own course....you have the power." I guess in some situations that is true. Some of the day to day decisions are up to you. But if we believe we are in charge, we will have a rude awakening.
I know we all have heard people say, "I'm really trying, but nothing is working out." or "I've done everything I know to do, and I just can't get this done." or "Why am I being punished, I try to do what God wants me to do." Maybe you've even said those things. I have. At times, when the going gets really rough, it is easy to blame God for our difficulties, saying He must not really care for us or love us. That He can't be a loving God if He allows these things to happen. Or questioning why He just SITS there and lets things happen that cause us pain. Ironically, this is where the patience of God comes in.
Tripp explains the patience of God beautifully here:
"When I read through the Bible, I am amazed at the generations of time between the fall of Adam and Eve into sin and the coming of Jesus to earth to provide redemption. If I had been in charge, Adam and Eve would have sinned in the morning; them Jesus would have come that afternoon, suffered and died that evening and rose from the dead the next morning. Thankfully, God is not as impatient as I am. The bible says Jesus came at just the right moment (Romans 5:6). There were no wasted years between the fall and Jesus' coming. There were no useless situations, locations or movements of history. With patience, God was doing step by step what would result in our rescue and transformation......As God's children, we are called to patience as well. God will not work according to our schedule. He will not always treat as urgent the things we think are urgent. Although he never rests, he works with slow and patient grace to remake us into the likeness of his Son."
The next part of this quote is so true.....so right.....I'd like to capitalize it, and place it in italics and bold print......think about it as you read this part:
"And how does God transform us? Well, he has chosen to keep us for a while in this terribly broken world, where he patiently uses surprise, hardship, disappointment, and trial to prepare us for the perfection that is to come. You could argue that the universal experience of people this side of forever is suffering. God doesn't allow us to be exposed to and personally experience these things because he doesn't care for us, but precisely because he does. With patient grace, he employs the hardships of life in this fallen world as his tools of redemption. He knows how self-righteous and self-reliant we can be. He knows how strong our trust is in our own wisdom and strength. He knows we think we're okay and the other guy is in need of redemption. So he leads us into situations that take us way beyond the limits of our own strength and wisdom. He uses difficulty to expose our weaknesses of character, wisdom, desire, thought, word, and action. And he does all of this so that we will admit our need, cry out for his help, and receive his transforming grace."
Thank God for patience. His patience. I imagine it gets pretty old listening to our whining, complaining spirits as we doubt Him and what He's doing in our lives. Especially when we doubt His goodness and His love for us when we are going through some really tough stuff. But, just like the parent of a toddler having a tantrum or a teenager with an attitude, God is patient. He doesn't give in. He knows what's best. He knows what He wants for us for eternity, and He intends to stick to it.
When we are facing those trials, those difficult situations that seem hopeless, when we just want to quit......let's try to remember this. He's there. He's for us. He's patient enough to see us through. Lean on that. Rely on that. Let Him be in charge. He's got our backs. Eternally.
- Romans 2:4
I am not, by nature, a patient person. I guess I am better than I used to be, but that is not saying a lot. I am like my infant granddaughter....I want what I want, when I want it. Period. I may act like I'm accepting my circumstances when they are less than desirable, but deep in my heart I know I cry out for what I really want.
Luckily, we are the children of a God who has infinite patience. I know that for a fact, because He has shown infinite patience with me. He still does. Paul David Tripp says it this way:
"Again, most of us don't like to wait, but our God, in grace, is willing to wait. We want life to be a series of completed events; God is willing to live with incompletion until his work is finally done. We want what we want, and we want it now; God is willing to invest now in things that will be enjoyed only in the future. To be in tune with who God is and what he is doing means having to wait, and having to wait reminds you that you are not in charge."
I am not in charge. That is a pretty profound statement. It kind of goes against everything we are taught in a secular world doesn't it? You know the things we have heard from kindergarten: "You control your destiny....it's all up to you......you chart your own course....you have the power." I guess in some situations that is true. Some of the day to day decisions are up to you. But if we believe we are in charge, we will have a rude awakening.
I know we all have heard people say, "I'm really trying, but nothing is working out." or "I've done everything I know to do, and I just can't get this done." or "Why am I being punished, I try to do what God wants me to do." Maybe you've even said those things. I have. At times, when the going gets really rough, it is easy to blame God for our difficulties, saying He must not really care for us or love us. That He can't be a loving God if He allows these things to happen. Or questioning why He just SITS there and lets things happen that cause us pain. Ironically, this is where the patience of God comes in.
Tripp explains the patience of God beautifully here:
"When I read through the Bible, I am amazed at the generations of time between the fall of Adam and Eve into sin and the coming of Jesus to earth to provide redemption. If I had been in charge, Adam and Eve would have sinned in the morning; them Jesus would have come that afternoon, suffered and died that evening and rose from the dead the next morning. Thankfully, God is not as impatient as I am. The bible says Jesus came at just the right moment (Romans 5:6). There were no wasted years between the fall and Jesus' coming. There were no useless situations, locations or movements of history. With patience, God was doing step by step what would result in our rescue and transformation......As God's children, we are called to patience as well. God will not work according to our schedule. He will not always treat as urgent the things we think are urgent. Although he never rests, he works with slow and patient grace to remake us into the likeness of his Son."
The next part of this quote is so true.....so right.....I'd like to capitalize it, and place it in italics and bold print......think about it as you read this part:
"And how does God transform us? Well, he has chosen to keep us for a while in this terribly broken world, where he patiently uses surprise, hardship, disappointment, and trial to prepare us for the perfection that is to come. You could argue that the universal experience of people this side of forever is suffering. God doesn't allow us to be exposed to and personally experience these things because he doesn't care for us, but precisely because he does. With patient grace, he employs the hardships of life in this fallen world as his tools of redemption. He knows how self-righteous and self-reliant we can be. He knows how strong our trust is in our own wisdom and strength. He knows we think we're okay and the other guy is in need of redemption. So he leads us into situations that take us way beyond the limits of our own strength and wisdom. He uses difficulty to expose our weaknesses of character, wisdom, desire, thought, word, and action. And he does all of this so that we will admit our need, cry out for his help, and receive his transforming grace."
Thank God for patience. His patience. I imagine it gets pretty old listening to our whining, complaining spirits as we doubt Him and what He's doing in our lives. Especially when we doubt His goodness and His love for us when we are going through some really tough stuff. But, just like the parent of a toddler having a tantrum or a teenager with an attitude, God is patient. He doesn't give in. He knows what's best. He knows what He wants for us for eternity, and He intends to stick to it.
When we are facing those trials, those difficult situations that seem hopeless, when we just want to quit......let's try to remember this. He's there. He's for us. He's patient enough to see us through. Lean on that. Rely on that. Let Him be in charge. He's got our backs. Eternally.
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