Practicing Patience
“Wait for the Lord;be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14.
Have you ever wondered why the psalmist coupled the admonition to wait for the Lord with encouragement to be strong and courageous?
The reason is that sometimes delaying is the hardest thing to do.
In fact, practicing patience is one of the most important lessons in God’s School of Obedience—it’s essential that believers learn to wait upon Him.
Modern culture is in such a hurry.
Gotta have it now!
Gotta do it now!
We’ve been primed to stay in a permanent state of readiness.
It takes courage to be still when the world is rushing past.
It takes strength to obey when everything in us hollers, “Go!” while God is whispering, “Wait.”
But people are quick to act because they are afraid of missing out on something.
Believers who buy into that attitude make a move and then hope the Lord will bless them.
God leaves nothing to chance.
He does not place a decision before us with the hope that we’ll make the right choice.
That would be irresponsible and out of character.
The Father is more than willing to show His children what to do-
– because He is personally interested in their welfare.
But until the Lord makes clear what is the way forward, we’ve got to pause and wait.
Waiting upon God is not passivity.
It is not laziness.
Nor is it an excuse for avoiding responsibility.
In fact, the opposite is true:
People who seek God’s will are those who pause to pray, search Scripture, and perhaps even fast before taking action.
And in the meantime, they are still serving God wherever they can.