Patience is necessary to Christians

In this world of hurry, we have forgotten patience. In fact, we are proud of not having any. I know when asked in job interviews what my weakness is, i allow that lacking patience is my weakness and spin it into a strength.


But in this day of impatient commitment phobes,  I am telling you that patience as a Christian is necessary.

James 1:4  Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Can you truly study Gods Word if you are in a hurry? How many mornings do you grab a devotional book, or read a blog such as this and say a quick prayer for a friend and having spent maybe 10 minutes with our Lord, run out of the house patting yourself on the back for having done your daily duty to God?

I know in this day of I want it now, we are more rushed than ever before. We think a 2 year commitment to our smart phone plan is a life sentence for goodness sake! But God wants our attention. He wants us to Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;  Psalm 37:7a

When is the last time you spent some quality time with your Lord and Savior?  When was the last time you had a long conversation with Him, and thanked Him for all the blessings in your life?
Romans 12:12 tells us we are to Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

And once we learn that patience,  Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on 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.

I think as a culture we have forgotten patience,  and as a result we have lost something important in our lives and in our fellowship with Christ.
Lets all work on slowing down and being still every day so we can hear the Holy Spirit teaching us, so we can commune with our Savior. What do you say?

Dear Lord, please help me to learn to wait on you. Please teach me patience, in times of trouble and times of happiness. Please help me to remember that You are always with me and  if I am patient you will hear my cry and will renew my strength. I do want to be still and hear you. Thank you Holy Spirit for teaching me this lesson today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry

The Potter and the Clay

Isaiah64:8 - Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 29:16 - You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?

God likens us many times in scripture to clay and talks about how He is molding us. 

As Christians, God wants us to live a life that glorifies Him. God has a job for us to do while we are here on this earth. God is the master of our lives and He has a plan for us. God will constantly mold us and change us so that we can be better used in His service. 

This "vessel making" can be painful sometimes. We don't always understand what God is doing, but we do know why..  He is forming us into the stronger vessel we need to be for Him 

THE CLAY AND THE POTTER
Yes, I wasn’t like this
Then, I was just a cold
Hard lump of clay
But one day a change i tasted

Then, I was just a cold
Hard lump of clay
But one day a change I tasted

Then, I was far noticed
By men of great expenditure
But he picked me up and he said
“I could do something with this”
In me was pressure prevailing
To change my rag of shape
It was too much to bear
I said, “It hurts, stop!!”

Furious I was when he said,
“Not yet”
I was laid to rest for several hours
Thinking it is over
But he said,
On a wheel I was kept
Around and around and around
He spanned me and I said
“Let me off”
Very stubborn he really was
And he replied,
“Not yet”
Suddenly, I noticed
I was a cup
And kept in a hot oven
Too painful, it really was
I shouted,
“Let me be”
As stubborn as a goat
He said,
“Not yet”


I couldn’t bear it any longer
I screamed
“I’m suffocating, I’m in hell”
But at me he stirred and said,
“Not yet”
I felt a sparkle of joy
When he loose on me
It is finished, I thought
But I was bathed with rainbow

Too often to weep again
I’m back to the hell”
And I said,
“I can’t stand it any longer’
As before as he always being
He said,
“Not yet”

At last,
I was placed on the shelf
Held up before the mirror
Waooh!
I’m now a beautiful tea cup
That everyone wants for treasure.

Author:

Prince Adeyemi Johnson, Nigeria

I came across this poem by Prince Adeyemi Johnson and had to chuckle. Isn't that just like us? We would rather be a lump of mud on the ground than to go through the shaping, the pulling and twisting God puts us through while He is forming us into a useful vessel for His service. And just when we think we are through the worst.. it is time for the kiln. We cry and rail and beg to be an old lump of clay again.  

I don't know about you, as much as I cry and beg. I think i will hold out and go through the twisting and pulling shaping and molding and the fire.. so I can be a beautiful " teacup" for our Lords use. 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord
(Adelaide Pollard & George Stebbins)
Have Thine own way, Lord , have Thine own way
Thou are the potter, I am the clay
Mold me & make me after Thy will
While I am waiting, yielded & still
Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way
Search me & try me , Savior today
Whiter than snow Lord, wash me just now
As in Thy presence humbly I bow
Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way
Wounded & weary , help me I pray
Power , all power, surely is Thine
Touch me & heal me , Savior divine
Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way
Hold o’er my being absolute sway
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me







Dear Lord, Please help me to remember during the tough times to keep my eyes on you. I am merely the clay but You are the Divine Potter and while being molded into a vessel for your service can be difficult at times, I do want to be who and what You want me to be.   I am sorry for the whining about the twisting and pulling my life seems to be lately and I thank you for the care you show me in molding me. Please give me strength to come out the other side of the kiln a vessel useful for your service. 
In Jesus name I pray..amen
 

My Hero

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

now go back and read that verse again. savor it. When life gets you down, say this verse to yourself. Print it and put it on your fridge. Put it on the visor of your car.  Memorize it.

When life gets you down, remember.. God is for us. When you think about it, the rest just doesn't matter much 

Worries

Matthew 6:34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Easier said than done isn't it? But so true. there is enough going on today to worry about, why borrow trouble by worrying about things that haven't happened yet and may not happen? 

We know one truth for sure. god will provide. Genesis 22:14. He promises to provide our daily needs. He didn't say He would only give us bread for the day. He said our needs. This could be food, emotional needs, love. Whatever it is, God knows and He will provide it if we allow Him to.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Psalm 27:10

In the 23rd Psalm we are promised:
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."


Thank you Lord for your promise to care for me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for lending me your strength when I feel I am too weak to continue. Help me to focus on your grace instead of my fear of the unknown tomorrow. Amen