PATIENCE!
Have you ever heard someone say “be patient, everything will be okay”. Well… i have! There has been times in my life where I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I thought I had reached the end of my rope. I thought nothing good could possibly happen to someone like me. I literally felt hopeless. That is…until something weird happens. Yeap… I said weird because usually when things happen that we can’t explain we call it weird. Things like meeting up with a stranger that instantly connects with you. A stranger that literally knows exactly what to say in your time of desperation, need, and weakness. A stranger that brings hope and helps you renew your faith. So how did that person know exactly what to say to make you feel better? Coincidence? I think not! Devine intervention? Absolutely! Remember, there is no such thing as a coincidence in the eyes of God.
Romans 5:4 reads, “And endurance produces character, and character produces hope”.
God works in mysterious ways and sometimes his ways are not obvious but they are simple. He uses people to heal, and breathe hope into others. So yes, perhaps that was God’s way of sending me a message. Perhaps that was God’s way of trying to keep me focused on the things i needed to do. Perhaps that was God’s way of trying to encourage and give me the strength i need to keep going. I know it’s not easy to believe in the words of a stranger but even if i asked that person how they knew that everything was going to be okay, it wouldn’t really make a difference because the most important part is believing in the words that they’ve spoken. Words are powerful. If you believe in the positive and encouraging words that people bless you with, then surely those words will yield fruit in your life.
Our patience yields fruit.
Even in the middle of hardships and difficulties, our patience will always yield fruit. When i think of my life and all the things i’ve been through, i can say there were moments when patience became my saving grace. There were instances where i received something unexpected or met someone unexpected because i simply chose to wait. Ofcourse this didn’t happen all the time—-but when it did, i always thought to myself “Thank God i waited.” and right after that, i would breathe a sigh of relief.
The more we develope our patience, the more likely we are able to deal with things better. The more patience we have, the more fruit it will yield.
Patience is something we all have but for some of us, because of the experiences we’ve been through in our lives, we start to forget how to be patient and slowly become impatient. Whenever you loose something on the inside, it is replaced with something else. So when we loose our patience, it is replaced with impatience. I think patience is something we all have to continue developing because it is a skill that is essential to our lives, how we deal with each other, and receive information. Patience is a skill we need to connect with God. I mean, yes we connect with God in alot of ways but without patience, our relationship with him will not work. God himself is patient with us and himself. He is patient with us from the time we are born.
We are born into sin because of the mistake Adam and Eve made. But even with that God did not leave their side. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and thus they were cast out of the garden of Eden and had to work hard to survive. Even though God was upset and sad, he provided them with clothes, food and shelter. We are decendants of Adam and Eve and God is still there for us everyday.
1 Corinthians 13:4 reads, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant”.
Love produces alot of things and that includes patience. God’s patience with us is beyond our understanding. We need to be patient with God because he’s always on time. Yes, sometimes we may think he’s slow but the truth is he isn’t. The way we count slowness is not the same way God counts slowness. Jehovah exists above the realm of time therefore he is never late. We are the ones that are just impatient. God knows alot of things are hard for us to deal with and he understands our feelings and emotions. He knows it’s difficult to wait, he knows it’s difficult to not see where you’re going, and he knows how hard it is to say “I’m just going to rely on faith”. But he also said that we should always come to him no matter what situation we find ourselves. In times of difficulty, in times of weakness, doubt, and confusion. He said come to me and I shall give you rest. He will refresh our minds, he will help and teach us how to be patient.
Matthew 11:28-30 reads “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light”.
Phillipians 4:6 reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”.
2 peter 3:9 reads, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”.
God never abandons us. Instead, we are the ones that abandon him. And even when we do, he is still there waiting for us to come to our senses and say “hey i messed up, please give me another chance”. When we ask for forgiveness, he forgives us.
He basically says “alright cool, I will give you another chance”. yeah, I literally said cool because God is cool like that. God’s like “yeah i know you did something wrong but i’ll still give you another chance because I know there is good in you”. “I know you can do better”. “Yes, you did something bad today, but i know you will also do something good tomorrow”. “And from what you’ll do tomorrow, i know you’re going to touch a few people. you are going to impact someone’s life”.
Nobody’s useless. Not one single human beign is useless. We say things to ourselves sometimes that are so terrible. We say things like “you’re useless”, “you’re no good”, ” you’re a waste of time”. But what’s the point of all that when we know it’s not true. Yes, that person might not be beneficial to our cause at the time and they might not be related to us. They may even seem to be a burden. But that doesn’t mean they’re useless. There is a use for everyone. Why would God make something useless? That doesn’t even make sense. So my brothers and sisters be patient. Be patient with whatever you’re going through, be patient with one another, be patient with God, be patient with prayer. Be patient in everything you do. And always remember to never give up because the minute you do, that’s when it truely becomes “The End”. That’s when there really is no hope.
Romans 12:12 reads, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”.
Romans 15:5 reads, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus”.
You can’t give up! You must fight and continue fighting those thoughts in your mind. We all have many weaknesses but our biggest weakness is not knowing how to capture the thoughts that flow through our minds. And we know that the enemy likes to mess with our minds. I mean think about it, everything starts from the mind. We might be healthy physically and very strong, but as soon as our minds are attacked we crumble. We crumble so easily because our minds are fragile.
The will that God has given to us is stronger than anything. No demon, or unclean spirit can overcome our will.
But first, we have to decide and say “you know what?, i want to fight”. “I’m not going take this”. “I’m not gonna sit by and say my life is over, it’s too hard, i give up”. “No, i’m not going to do that”. “I’m going to fight but i’m going to start with my will”. And then I’m going to pray. And then i’m going to hold on and have patience. And I’m going to say ” you know what, i don’t care what anyone says”. I believe in God!”.
We don’t need to understand God 100 percent. But we need to believe that in everything he does, he does for the greater good because he is love and light. I mean the fact that we all woke up today is proof that he loves us.
Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”.
God could demand our souls today and we would be gone. Just like that. But instead, he woke us up today. So we need to keep fighting. we need to fight off the enemy. We need to fight off the thoughts that flow through our minds that bring confusion. We need to fight off the devil and every single agent he sends our way. We do it with God, with Jesus Christ and The Holy spirit. We do it with all that is light because we are not alone. Amen.
Father, king of glory we thank you so much for your teachings today. We thank you for the things you do for us even when we are not worthy. Father God we pray that you are always patient with us. We pray you are always there to help us through our difficulties. We pray that you help us to continue keeping our eyes on you. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
You are all Blessed.