“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”
Psalm 32:8
(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while driving through Nebraska)
Patience
Renew Confidence
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:13-14
(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas)
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Practice Patience
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9
(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while driving through northern Colorado)
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Trust and Patience
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.”
Psalm 37:3-8
(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Garden of the Gods Park near Colorado Springs)
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Wait Patiently
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.”
Psalm 37:7-8
(This photo was taken in the summer of 2014 on a lake in central Minnesota)
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Be Patient, Trust Him
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:13-14
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Life by the Spirit…Self-Control
It does not surprise me that this is the last thing listed in the Galatians 5:22-23 writing about the Fruit of the Spirit…why? Because as with all aspects of faith it all comes back to us…our attitude, our perspective and most of all our choices. We are blessed with free will, free to choose how we will act in this world.
Free to choose Love or hate
Free to choose Joy or sadness
Free to choose Peace or fighting
Free to choose Patience or hurriedness
Free to choose Kindness or be mean
Free to choose Goodness or cruelty
Free to choose Faithfulness or distraction
Free to choose Gentleness or be unbalanced
Free to choose to use the Fruits of the Spirit using Self-Control
Our guide for all of this is Jesus. God sent him so that reconciliation with God is always available. He loves us and wants us to choose to love him. Self-Control is not easy, I know from experience and I struggle with it as much as anyone.
Getting better at Self-Control is a choice in itself…it is choosing to live a healthy life style. Start by doing devotions in the morning and/or at night every day. Make those 5-10 minutes a priority and be quiet and calm with the Word every day. Given time it will help…then look at how you are physically caring for yourself…be sure you are eating regularly, getting rest and sleep and take a walk for exercise. When you feel things are out of control stop and pray. All of this is possible for anyone; it does not take a large financial investment just commitment. I know how the world we live in will try to distract and dissuade you from continuing…don’t quit. Even when you fall down and feel like you are failing, God is still right there saying “I understand, my own Son experienced frustration and temptation in the world. You are forgiven.”
“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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:22-26
I pray we all we seek to live using the Fruits of the Spirit in all we do every day.
Take a look at the picture above one more time…choose to see what is on the other side through that opening…
May God’s Peace be with you
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Life by the Spirit…Patience
What does it mean to be Patient? Often this word makes people roll their eyes and give a sigh…we all struggle to find Patience in this world. As I have stated, the world keeps telling us to hurry up, get here, get there, buy this…save time by doing this or buying that…enough! I think it’s time to get out of the rat race that encourages us always to look for more or something better…time to find contentment with what we have received and where we are in the world. Am I saying give up? Absolutely not…my point is more about surrendering your life to Christ instead of surrendering your life to this world.
Patience is all about slowing down the pace of life. Those who trust in God know who is in control of their life…everyone still makes decisions and lives life each day, there is just a greater sense of calm because they start and/or end everyday committing all they do to God. They strive to be more positive and look for the good in what has happened…does that mean everything is happy, happy, joy, joy? No not at all…no matter what you choose to believe in this world we all have to face the same negative forces and evil that affects everyone because the human race has free will. In the Bible Psalm 27 is a great resource for Patience and waiting for the Lord…
“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”
Psalm 27:13-14
May we all find Patience starting this new week and change our perspective on facing our daily challenges.
Tomorrow I will discuss Kindness.
Peace.
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Patience and Persistence
Sometimes we all wish God worked like a drive-thru…quick, cheap and efficient? We could just pull in and get whatever we needed whenever we needed it. Those thoughts come directly from the world we live in. Everything in this world seems focused on the quick, convenient, fast and easy…we want more we want more.
My toughest moments in my faith journey…times when I have felt a letdown or disappointment have occurred because I lacked Patience and Persistence.
Patience – defined as “bearing pain or trials without complaint”; “showing self-control”
Persistence – defined as “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of difficulties”
These are two qualities that are not promoted in our world yet when we focus on them we usually are closer to living God’s plan for our life rather than our own plan. I have always been a better husband, father, son, brother or friend when I practice patience and persistence.
In my spiritual life I define Patience as waiting for the Lord. He is always there and he always working his plan in your life even when you think nothing is happening. Every interaction with another person is an opportunity and a blessing. When we are patient we can smile and make eye contact with the grocery store or convenience store clerk. When passing by someone we know we can say “Hi” with a smile instead of “Hey, How you doing?” as we speed past not waiting for a response because we didn’t really want to know how they were doing at that moment. When we are patient as a friend we really listen to what our friend is saying and not thinking about what we are going to say next in conversation. When we are patient we will be willing to sacrifice some of our own wants and needs to help others.
Persistence can be defined as never giving up of God. Things will not go the way you want or just the way you planned but maybe you ran ahead of God and it wasn’t time for you to get that job or start that adventure. Maybe he knows you have some more trials coming ahead. It is not punishment, that is not how God works. He has a plan for how he wants you to use the gifts he gave you and he knows the events you are going to encounter in life. Your job is to learn from trials and pray about them and listen for God to respond. For example, if you need the courage to ask someone for forgiveness or you need to forgive someone for something…pray about it daily and be watchful for that opportunity to be forgiven or to forgive…it will come. Just be persistent about your prayer.
In closing, one of my favorite Bible verses speaks to these qualities it is this:
“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”
Psalm 27:13-14
Peace.
Take Your Faith With You 