Cultivating Patience

hey there hi there ho there!

Good morning and happy November! A new month, and the beginning of the holiday season. I am so looking forward to this next season of gratitude and rejoicing in our Savior's birth!

This month, we are talking about P A T I E N C E.

Oof. I believe we all struggle with this at some point, if not all points. It is something I have come to understand on a deeper level as I mother two almost toddlers, and something I struggle with every minute of the day. I feel like we struggle with patience more today than we ever have. We live in a world of instant gratification. Want to know something? Google gives you an answer in a matter of seconds. Want to talk to a friend? Messages are sent in less than a second. Want to order new clothes, a new couch, a new rug, a new appliance? With the click of a button you can have it sent to your door in two days without even leaving your couch! (Well, the times of C*V*D have changed that some). Hungry? Order Door Dash and your favorite fast food meal is sent to your door in 30 minutes or less!

You get it. We rarely have to wait for anything today, and when we do end up having to wait (like when they were limiting the number of people into Wal-Mart and you had to wait 2 hours to buy groceries) we are furious. We are a people of little patience.

That, however, is the opposite of what we are called to be as believers. We are called to live a fruitful life, and part of the fruit we are to cultivate is patience (Galatians 5:22-23)

The Bible calls us to be. patient. The Lord who created us wants us to W A I T. Wait for Him, wait for His timing, wait for His answer, wait for His return. The patience we are called to have runs deeper than waiting in line at Panda Express or going out to a store to shop instead of ordering everything on Amazon. It is a call to endure, to be gentle with difficult people, to seek what God has for us instead of what we think we need.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

Psalm 27: 13-14

Patience is continuing to be faithful to the Lord, continuing to follow Him, continuing to rejoice through every difficult circumstance. Patience is knowing that the Lord is GOOD. That He works all things together for good, and if we just wait a little longer, we will see that goodness. It is believing in our heart of hearts that the suffering we are enduring will grow our patience deeper, and the more patient we are, the more Christ-like our character will be, and the more Christlike our character is, the more hope we will have. It is believing that the hope we have in Christ will not disappoint us because GOD LOVES US (Romans 5:3-5). Patience is enduring to the end, and receiving our crown of life.

Today, dear friend, I urge you to ask the Lord to help you cultivate a patient life in ALL aspects.

Patience with His timing in giving you a spouse.

Patience with His timing in giving you a child.

Patience with this trial He has laid in your lap.

Patience with your job situation.

Patience with your health issue.

Patience with the people in your life who make it difficult to love them.

Patience with seeing the ones you love the most come to the Lord in repentance.

Patience with Christ's return.

And yes, patience with the elderly person doing self-check out at Wal-Mart for the first time.

The more patience you have, the more Christlike you become, and the more you can hope in the goodness of God.