This morning I asked the Lord what was on His heart for me to study on today, and I heard the word “patience” and then specifically, “building patience”.

oh boy…ugh.

Then I thought, “Lord, goodness are You teaching me patience…” ?

(…and then I remembered how patient He has been with me) ? ?

“The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in Him,
So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for Him to save us—
And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.” -Lamentations 3:25-27

Patience is such a part of His character that I love.

“Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4

He says that He wants us to learn “patience”…. that we need to learn it. He chose us, we are His people. He knows that it is good for us, and for others –for us to learn patience.

“You are the people of God; He loved you and chose you for His own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” -Colossians 3:12

Do you know how impatient I can be sometimes? ha. It’s a real struggle, especially when my mind gets going, my nerves get going, when anxiety tries to hit, I start thinking more about the situation, I get tempted to take it into my own hands…”get me outta this, Lord!” but His Word says to…

“Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.” -Romans 12:12

Because when we wait on Him, when we are patient and wait on Him and wait for His timing –the right time, then we don’t mess everything up because He handles it for us, we wait for Him to say, “okay, now…”, or sometimes we just see Him fix the situation right before our eyes without us even having to do a thing. We don’t rush in and ruin the whole thing He’s been cooking up when we learn to be wait and patient. He’s doing a good thing.

“I waited patiently for the Lord’s help;
then He listened to me and heard my cry.” -Psalm 40:1

So then, how do I be patient? How do I do this? (Lord, help me.)

“Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another.” -Ephesians 4:2

Oh boy… ?

“Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.” – Proverbs 15:18

How beautiful is this verse…

“Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

Then I remembered all the times when I have been troubled, or weary, or burdened and wanted to not have to wait any longer when it seemed too hard to wait…all the times I had been pushed beyond “my limits” in that waiting –but then when I did wait, the Lord always resolved the situation and worked it out somehow. It never fails to amaze me when I get to see Him do the resolving –when I get to see Him swoop in and be my Help. His way is always better. How do I take His way? Waiting on Him to lead me.

So I can see how “building patience” is good. And I can see how “building patience” is also so hard because in order to do that I must first learn to trust Him fully, and then I must build endurance in the waiting, which can be so painful and so stretching. ?

But man, when we learn to let go of that thing, lay it down, wait patiently, and then He does that thing that only He can do…. it’s the most beautiful thing. ?

We can see the results of our Lord taking care of us. Taking care of His child. Doing that thing that only He can do.

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14:14

Wow.

There it is.

Thank You Lord, for always keeping in mind what is good for us. For teaching us Your ways, Your heart… even though patience is such a hard lesson to learn, You know it’s for good. You have big plans for us, and You know what we need, and You know what You have in store for us when we just let go of trying in our own strength and let You do the work that only You can do –when we let go of it all and trust You –and just simply wait.

–Heather ?