Often times have I been told that patience is what I need to learn, and often times have I thought that I have finally done it because I learned to be patient. However, when the Lord calls us to be more loving or more patient, or even when we ask to be more of something, it is something that we must prepare ourselves for, for a lifetime. There is no virtue, no trait, no skill that anyone can ask for that will ever be completed in a lifetime. And with patience, I have found that it is not one experience that I need to grow with patience in, but my whole life… every single day, and every single part of it.
How many times have I let each day go by, looking for “the message”? Looking for affirmations of everything? Although it isn’t entirely bad, it also isn’t the greatest. That is something I learned from experience. If I constantly look for the answers myself, how much room am I leaving for God to lead me to them? If I am constantly thinking, observing, analyzing, I will never hear or see the simplicity of His blessings around me. I will fail to see the answers when they’re right in front of me because I have created my own distractions by trying to break down these messages myself. I must admit, there have been many many times that I have done this, agonizing over what the message could be, when sometimes, all He’s waiting for is for me to lay back, settle down, and sit beside Him so I can hear His whisper. Then, it is in that silence that I sigh in relief, laughing at how simple and how much greater everything truly is.
So when the Lord says, “Be patient,” it is not a matter of replying with “Be patient with what, Lord?”
It is a matter of saying, “Yes, Lord,” despite of not knowing exactly what it is because often times, it isn’t about one thing or two. Sometimes, it is simply about discovering the importance of that virtue and how I can personally grow in it in.. Not in one thing, not in two, not even in a million other things, but in everything, big and small.
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”
– Joyce Meyer
It is another opportunity to have FAITH, to HOPE, and to LOVE.
“Patience with others is
LOVE;
Patience with self is
HOPE;
Patience with God is
FAITH.”
– Adel Bestavros