I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth.
Psalm 40,
1-3.
Patience is such a gift that if exercised purposefully gives back immeasurably.
It's hard to truly learn lessons when a lack of patience is present.
We have defaulted so much towards convenience that the slightest discomfort that comes from waiting really irritates us.
We absolutely need patience in order to build character.
There is no sense of development or accountability when we do not allow for waiting periods.
When we are impatient it takes away from the natural process of life.
Our why wait mentality has infiltrated just about every aspect of our lives.
However the promise and the purpose that is on your life requires a certain level of patience.
Patience produces the character you need so that you are prepared to walk in the fullness of your purpose.
Absolutely nothing bad comes from being patient.
This produces a radical form of fruit in your life.
Patience by its very nature has an amount of time attached to it.
We would not plant a seed in the ground and then dig it up every day to see if it is growing.
We know what the end promise is,
A plant,
Tree,
Herb,
But there is a measure of time that we must wait before it becomes a reality.
There is merit to moving at a reasonable pace,
Listening to wisdom,
And going with the natural flow.
Things get a lot clearer when we are led by patience rather than a sense of rushing.
We enjoy life a lot more when we learn to be patient.
While we are in a season of waiting or where patience is being tested,
We can still be actively working on our character and drawing close to our creator.
Being patient does not mean just sitting around,
Growing bored,
Or giving up.
There is so much to be done while being patient.
Using the rest period of being patient to deepen our character,
The less being patient will feel like a burden.
The more you practice patience,
The more effortless it becomes.
Being patient always pays off.
Your character needs to be able to sustain where you are going.
Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart,
In the counsel of the upright and in the assembly.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
And his righteousness endures forever.
The works of his hand are faithful and just.
All his precepts are trustworthy.
He provides redemption for his people.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
All who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise.
Psalm 111.
Faithfulness comes from our creator alone,
Not from our earthly relationships.
We will always be let down by people.
We have the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us,
But we will never be 100% perfect.
And it is inevitable that we will experience rejection or disappointment in our relationships.
It becomes a problem when we look to friends or significant others to fulfill us.
However,
We are made to live in community with one another.
Allowing our disappointment in others to cloud our view of God occurs all the time,
But we need to immerse ourselves in truth so that we are not searching desperately for fulfillment in others.
It is the difference between seeking water from a dry well or a clear spring's waterfall.
This does not mean that we should doubt the presence of God working through others' lives,
But that should not be where we derive our strength.
In life,
Whatever we magnify gets bigger.
This includes trials,
Joys,
And strengths.
Learning and faith helps to diminish areas that appear too large for us to handle,
But our faith is only as strong as its anchor.
Faithfulness goes hand in hand with trust.
The faithfulness of God is one area that proves his goodness and provides refuge in times of uncertainty.
When life gets overwhelming,
He is the rock on which we can lean.
All other foundations crumble and give way.
Self-control should be the cornerstone of our lives.
This is easier said than done,
But when we exercise self-control,
We will always encounter breakthrough,
Even in the little areas.
When we practice self-control in one area,
It automatically influences all other areas of our lives.
A lack of self-control can tend to create a spirit of greed.
This manifests as not being satisfied with what we already have.
Greed can lead to a cycle of addiction,
That insatiable hunger for always wanting more,
And it gets in the way of our destiny,
Joy,
And progress.
Greed can take the shape of many things,
Constant longing for something,
Never to be satisfied,
Worrying about loss,
And becoming addicted to our pain,
Just to name a few.
That leaves us stranded in a way,
Never reaching our full potential.
With phrases like,
Follow your truth,
Or following whatever feels good,
No wonder we find it hard to focus on controlling our emotions,
Passions,
Desires,
And addictions.
Being led by self and not by the Holy Spirit is a choice.
We have the freedom to choose what we allow into our minds and bodies.
One is life,
And the other produces death in the form of strongholds,
Addictions,
Or anxieties in our life.
The wonderful thing about self-control is that it produces freedom.
Letting the Holy Spirit lead us will fully empower us and steer us towards our destiny.
No temptation is too strong that the Holy Spirit is powerless to intervene.
We are given the Holy Spirit,
The same Holy Spirit who was within Jesus when he was tempted to conquer whatever we may face.
The more we practice self-control,
Even in the small areas,
The more making wise choices will become a habit.
God is a gentleman.
It will never make us do anything we do not want to do.
Jesus' Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are offered 100% free if we just believe and receive.
He is the never-ending well of joy,
Truth,
And adventure.
When we place all our stock on anything that is not him,
We will be disillusioned and disappointed.
When we turn our face towards him,
It is like turning our cheek towards the sun.
The warmth of his love is felt deep down into our bones and his peace melts over us.
Galatians 5,
22-23 says,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
And self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
The last part,
Against such things there is no law,
Is so freeing as it tells us that we do not need to be worried about living life perfectly,
And we do not need to live in condemnation.
When we live by the fruits of the Spirit,
The grace of God takes care of it all.
There is a sense of lightness and wonder when we are living in the Spirit.
The Word of God is living and active.
There is no substitute for truth,
And scriptures are no less true today than they were when they were written.
Our Creator is unconditionally faithful and is the bedrock of a sound mind.
