Patience. I have learned so much about patience recently that I’m going to talk about it a little more. Patience, according to the Dictionary it is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” * Basically it is waiting without getting upset. This sounds easy for some things but it is actually hard when you really want something. It is extremely hard to have patience in a fast-moving world. We live in a give me society; no one waits or has patience’s anymore, everyone wants everything right away. If a fast food place takes longer than 10 minutes (this could actually be too long) to provide us with our food, we get upset. We become frustrated waiting in line, waiting for test results or just waiting in general. We have lost the beauty in patience.
There’s beauty in patience? Yes, there is beauty in being patience especially when you are waiting on God. I know that I might sound crazy but when was the last time you waited for God to move and was not in a hurry to know what God was saying or going to do? Yeah, it has probably been a while. We get so caught up in wanting to know everything now that we miss seeing the beauty in being patience.
What am I talking about? The last blog post, I shared a poem/prayer entitled, God, I Will Wait. This post was really personal because I find myself trying to have patience and wait on God in my dating life. Growing up, I always had this idea that while I was in college, I would end up dating the man that I would marry. I also had this idea that I would go from college directly to medical school, both of which did not happen. So, I found myself upset and angry first, at myself and then at God. I was mad that I didn’t (in my mind) perform well enough academically or plan properly to apply for medical school right away. Because I was always studying in college, I never really socialized which left me single (again, in my mind). I was also mad at God because I told Him my plans for my life and expected Him to carry it out.
But, I am so glad that I serve an amazing, loving and on time God that even though I had plans and a timeline for my life, God in His great love has His own plans and His own timeline for my life, which is one million times better than mine. If God allowed my timeline for life to happen, I would not be an intern for an organization that is making real change in the community nor would I be a college teacher right out of college and so much more. You see, God knows! He knows what is best for you and when to give it to you. Isaiah 55:8-9 has become one of my favorite Bible verses because it tells me that God’s plans, thoughts, and ways are not my plans, thoughts or ways. Just as high as the heavens are from the earth, that is how far God’s plans, thoughts, and ways are from mine. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for us and His plans are not to harm us but to prosper us. These are just some of the precious promises that we can claim while we wait on God.
So, be patience, God got you. Whatever you are impatiently waiting on God to do, just relax and allow God to move in His time. If God gave me everything I wanted right away I would be so unhappy; He knows what is best for me and you and will provide at the right time. I know that it is easy to say this but God has been showing me recently that His timing is the best. Believe me, the God who created time knows when it is the perfect time to provide. Just sit back, read a book, write a blog and wait for God’s perfect timing; I promise that it will be worth it.
~Elyse
*http://www.dictionary.com/browse/patience?s=t
