Patience
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” Psalm 37:7-9
It’s not easy to be patient. We want things to go our way and we want them now. It is hard to wait, isn’t it?
In October, we took our children on their first trip to Disney World. We researched everything we could before we left for our trip. We only had a few days and we wanted to make the most of them. After visiting Magic Kingdom the first day, we decided to visit Animal Kingdom the next. We knew what time the gates opened and planned to be there when they did. We chose to drive so we could make sure we would be there on time. Not only did we arrive on time, we were the first ones at the gate.
The wait seemed like it was taking forever. I remember wondering if something was wrong, because surely they would allow us to enter and park our car in order to be there when the park gates opened. Rob even got out of the car and went up to the door at the entrance gate to ask when they would allow us to enter. The wait seemed like forever. Finally, they let us through the gate.
Because we had been in the front of the line, and had waited patiently for them to open the gate, they gave us a parking pass. This was not just any old parking pass. No, they gave us a front-row parking pass that allowed us to park only a few steps away from the park’s entrance. How humorous! We hadn’t been patient at all. We had been anything but patient. We were waiting only because we had to.
God is very patient with me. He is patient at all times. I am not. I want to be patient but it is hard. It’s somewhat easy to look patient but it’s a whole other thing to be patient.
We are impatient with people that irritate us, wrong us, accuse us, inconvenience us, offend us, reject us, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes we are even impatient with ourselves, because of our failures and weaknesses. God is altogether different. He is perfectly patient with us.
As the hymn (Praise My Soul the King of Heaven) reminds us: Fatherlike He tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame He knows. In His hands He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Alleluia! Alleluia! Widely yet His mercy flows.
Prayer: When I sin, you are patient with me over and over and over. Thank you Lord Jesus. Help me to be patient with others, with You, with time, with my circumstances, with traffic, with my computer, with strangers and with my family and friends.