The Patience Post

Something that I have observed just about every week since I have been working with kids has got me thinking. I noticed that when they want me to read them a book, many of them do not have the patience to make it through a single page. Before I'm done with the first page they are already flipping to the second page, or even to the middle of the book. Sometimes we are this way with our lives; we try and get ahead of God. I know adults that have the habit of picking up a book to read and skipping to the end because they just can't wait to see how everything will turn out. I've been guilty of doing the same thing! We as human beings just have to work at this thing called patience. So many times we rush things that we want rather than letting God have His way. We want to skip a few pages and rush the story of our lives. I have found that God's way and timing is perfect; if you try and work everything out yourself, you will bring pain to your own self. If you skip some pages, you ruined part of the story. Just let God unfold the rose, because He always gets it right.

If we are going to make it to heaven, we are going to need to have patience. Jesus said in Luke 21 verse 19, "In your patience possess ye your souls." We've seen it happen over and over again; people don't have the patience that it takes to grow in God. You're not going to get where you need to be overnight. It's going to take hard work and diligence; for both of those things, we need patience.

"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:8

We need patience in so many difference areas:

• Patience with our own selves
• Patience enough to wait on God and let him have His way
• Patience in waiting for the right person in your life
• Patience with your family: Spouse/kids
• Patience with other people in general
• Patience, Patience, Patience!

But know this: When you have patience and wait on God, the end will always be good! It will be so much better than we could ever make it to be ourselves. I can look back on my own life and see the places where I tried to work everything out myself and do it my way. Guess what happened? A train wreck! It just WON'T WORK if you do it your way! But when I let God have His way in me, everything worked out! "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:4 Yes, it's not always easy and there will be pain when you have to let go of things, but you will heal and be better off than ever before. It doesn't matter how bad your beginning was: the end is what really matters.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 says this: "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

If we're too proud to let go of our own ways and be patient with God's ways, our end will not be a good one. The end is what matters. God help us to be patient and let You have your way in us.