Forty Days of Promises: To be patient with us
Thursday, May 28th
God promises to be patient with us
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:8-10
All promises are fulfilled in Christ.
Please read Mark 10:35-40
When I think of being patient my mind immediately takes me back to my younger years of teaching young children in school and raising two boys. I truly believe that any time you are impacting children, patience is one of the most important traits you can possess. So, during that time in my life, because of my Type A personality, I prayed for patience EVERY SINGLE DAY! And, because confession is good for the soul, let me go ahead and admit to you all that I often struggled and failed with being patient.
We are God’s children. And I must say that I am so glad that He is a patient and loving Father because I make mistakes all the time. I know I test his patience daily, but I rest in the words from David that remind me of God’s character. God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger...He will not always chide [scold], nor will he keep his anger forever.” Praise be to the Lord for His patient ways. May His ways be my ways.
In today’s spotlight scripture from the New Testament, Jesus showed God’s patience with His disciples. James and John express their desire to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand when he comes to power. They were “way off base” when making this request. Jesus doesn’t yell at them or disqualify them as a disciple; rather, He used it as a teaching time. Jesus’ response tells us that He understood how spiritually immature and “childlike” they were.
One of my favorite sayings about patience is this, “Patience is not the ability to wait, it is the ability to wait with a good attitude.” For us, as women of faith, that means to wait with a Christ-like attitude. Our character to be more like Him is developed in the waiting and is evidenced in our response to the waiting. I want to be patient like Jesus! I am so grateful that when God filled us with His Holy Spirit, one of the qualities we received is patience. It is the fourth Fruit of the Spirit and when we allow it to manifest in our daily lives, it points others to Christ.
For further reading: Luke 18:15-17; Romans 8:16-17; 1 Corinthians 3:2; Galatians 5:22-23
God, thank you for always being patient with us! We continually fall short, missing the mark of what we need to be as Your children. Yet, You don’t hold our failures against us. Instead You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger. Thank you for giving me the gift of patience. Teach me how to exhibit it more and more in my life. In Jesus’ Name and for The Father's glory, Amen
