Patience and Waiting

What is something you find hard to do?

Mine is waiting, well it’s actually patience and waiting…that’s at least two things I find hard to do! Haha!

According to Merriam-Webster: Waiting

• to stay in place in expectation of

• to remain stationary in readiness 

• to remain in expectation

• to pause for another to catch up

• to look forward expectantly

• to hold back expectantly

• to be ready and available

• to remain temporarily neglected

• to remain unrealized

According to Merriam-Webster: Patience

• the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient

The Bible tells us a lot about waiting and patience. *See link below for more references.

“For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” -Habakkuk 2:3

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” -Romans 8:25

“…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -1 Corinthians 1:7

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” -Philippians 4:6

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” -Romans 12:12

“…but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” “Isaiah 40:31

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:6-7

I read something about patience a couple of days ago and it’s been on my mind ever since. I like to think I have a lot of patience, this may be true in some areas in my life but I definitely struggle with waiting and having patience from time to time. I am more aware of the abundance or lack of it now in my life than ever before. For example, traffic usually doesn’t bother me much unless I’m in a hurry or running late; bad serve in a restaurant, I tend to put myself in the servers shoes and think maybe they are having a tough day. When I’m excited to do something I have a tendency to overwhelm. I think I’m being patient and I think I’m being “cool.” Truth is my patience is disproportionate to real time. I have friends that I joke with and describe myself as going from A to Z, quickly. The problem with that is I miss all the stuff in between that brings depth and meaning. This can also be called “putting the cart before the horse” and other like metaphors. There’s many reasons people tend to quantum leap through things…learned behavior, this is what was learned over a period of time usually with similar results; fear of the unknown which is also a learned behavioral response typically from actual experience. It the feeling of, “I know how this ends, so let’s just get it over with and move on.” And sometimes it’s just, unfamiliar and uncomfortable and your just a little unsure or possibly scared… Let’s be honest, those feelings are all part of what makes us human, they can be empowering when we face them and see where the roads take us. Imagination is a wonderful thing but it’s a poor substitute for real, reality. Take hold of opportunities, when you find yourself racing through something for the sake of getting it over with (or) through it…ask yourself “why?” Try giving yourself the gift of patience, the gift of waiting, the gift of the experience and all the little surprises along the way. Life is a journey, not a destination. Above all, trust in God, seek His will in your life and where He leads you.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.” -Lamentations 3:25

“Patience is not quite the same as waiting. While waiting is something we do, patience is something we offer. We wait because we must — we have little choice in the matter. But patience is our gift to our Father while we wait. In the silence, in the waiting, patience chooses to declare, “Lord, I love you. I know I don’t love you as I ought, but I want to love you more than your answer to my prayers. I will try to offer you my patient heart as long as you ask me to wait on this.”

What is patience? Patience looks like perseverance.”

—Jani Ortlund

According to Merriam-Webster: Perseverance

• continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition 

• the action or condition or an instance  of persevering

Friends, may you have peace in you waiting, hope in you patience, faith in your perseverance as well as forgiveness and understanding in your zeal.

~Peace~

References:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dictionary

https://www.openbible.info/topics/waiting

https://www.openbible.info/topics/patience

https://www.biblegateway.com/