Patience can mean a lot of things and can be used in different ways. If you want to look and use another word for patience, you could use words like long-suffering, slow to anger, and endurance. I liked it when my pastor said it this way: "Patience isn't born, it is made" and how true that is. We all know that children do not have patience when they are first born. It is a learning process for them, probably all of their lives. They just don't know it yet. Every different season calls for a different amount of patience from a person. The sermon last night was around these 4 points on how to cultivate patience in your life:
-Stay Faithful (James 5:7)
-Strengthen Your Heart (James 5:8, James 1:2-4)
-Don't Grumble (James 5:9)
-Follow the examples of others (James 5:10-11).
I will be honest I kind of listen to the other 3 just a bit but that was because my mind was so set on the 1st point, which was "stay faithful". Something I am not very good at when hard times come my way. Not only that but my pastor used the story about the farmer waiting for his scattering seeds to grow and got really got to me too. I have known a lot of farmers in my 29 years and those farmers always had something about them but being the little girl I was, I had no idea what. My grandpa, babysitter (2nd dad to me), ag. teacher were all farmers but yet they were all calm too and fun to be around. They didn't give a care in the world. Why you might ask? Because they had patience.
They knew that they could only do so much for the crops and animals on the farm and trusted God for the rest of what they needed whether it be rain or anything else. They couldn't control the weather, therefore, they had to be patience they really didn't have a choice and no farmer does. I have a friend that is a county guy/farmer and I like how patience he is too. I can see that same patience in him as I saw in the other guys closet to me. My friend is so blessed spirited and full of happiness just because he has patience for things. That probably didn't come easy for him but he learned how to be patience and how to grow it in every situation. He is doing well in life because of that patience that he had and has. He has his own land and house at the age of 32. Let's not forget his own online show too. I love it when he uses the words: blessed, content, happy, and His (God's) Timing because that patience just shows right through him and through those words.
I will be honest too, I thought a lot about him during the sermon so I could understand want my pastor was talking about. Now I have another special person that has a lot of patience and that is one of my girlfriends. She is, right now, a foster mom for 3 kids and one teenager. The 3 kids' ages ranges from not even a year old yet to maybe 5 years old with a 2 year olds in between them. She got complimented for her patience last night at the place we ate out at after church. We were all thinking only if the lady knew the children weren't normal children. She does have patience and it can been seen. When she first got them, they weren't easy at all. The little girl was a newborn and the 2 years old couldn't talk or walk and he threw the biggest fits. She also had some scary times just wondering about things like health issues for each of the children.
Her patience has really grown in the past year too. I'm around these 2 great people of patience and even more but yet I don't see it until now and I feel like I am nowhere near where they are in that department. I have a lot of growing up to do when it comes to patience. I always seems to run away from anything that takes patience or to sacred to do anything that takes it. I like the verse my pastor gave to us at the end of the sermon and it was: 1 Peter 2:20-23 and I think I need to make that my life verse for awhile until I get the hang of this patience thing and process. The verse says:
"20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."
We should follow in the footsteps of Christ's example. Of what He did on the cross for us. We need to entrust (trust) ourselves and our lives to God. We can be insulted at, laughed at, threats can be made at us but as long as we trust in God, we should be fine. We have to endure the bad things to get the good things. We have to trust that God will pull us through it and be patience until He does. That is what will make God happy with us. Just writing this entry is making me bubble up inside and all shaky too because I know that I need to do a lot better at this in life. I need to stop running away and being a scary cat and just face my fears head on. Who knows maybe those fears will turn out to be great for me one day. We never know what God has in store and that is why it is best to just take one day at a time with Him.
Challenge to Everyone, as well as myself: "Keep entrusting ________________ to God. (Fill in the blank) and I suggest doing it daily, if not weekly.
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