Exercising patience means waiting. Generally, we have two ways in which we can wait - with fear and anxiety or with great anticipation and excitement. The condition in which we wait often coincides directly with the way in which we are related to God. If we are out of sync, we are going to be truly worried about the outcome and will attempt to take matters into our own hands. Conversely, if we are "right with God," we can wait and watch for how he is going to work in the situations we face. We can anticipate his plan with the same difficult-to-contain excitement of a child awaiting Christmas morning, or we can agonize with the "wait 'til your father gets home" fear and dread!
God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to prepare to take Jericho. This involved becoming "purified" before God, honoring and revering his presence among them, and following some rather unconventional tactics of warfare. A key to learning to wait with patient anticipation to "...see the salvation of the Lord..." (Exodus 14:13; II Chronicles 20:17) is to sanctify or purify ourselves (to have a right heart) before him. Joshua told the children of Israel, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). God does great and wondrous things in our lives when we are obedient to him; when we aren't, we prevent him from blessing our lives (see Joshua 7).
With God present among the Israelites, they were ready to pass into the Land of Canaan that he had promised them. He commanded Joshua to have the Levite priests carry the Ark of the Covenant, God's symbol of his holy presence, into the Jordan River. As long as the priests stood in the Jordan with the Ark, the people were able to cross on dry land (Joshua 3:11-17). When the people prepared to take Jericho, God was there, as the priests led the procession around the walls of the city (Joshua 6:11). God, present in any situation of our lives, leading the charge, results in victory. In the words of David, "For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall" (II Samuel 22:30, Psalm 18:29). Nothing is too great for God; we just have to let him lead!
Marching around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days, with trumpets blowing, and then repeating the same pattern on the seventh day for seven circuits with a shout added the last time around doesn't seem like a plan for successfully taking the city and routing the people (Joshua 6:1-21). But, it was God's plan, and Joshua insisted that the people follow it as ordered. Sure enough, on the seventh time around when the trumpets sounded, the children of Israel gave up a shout of victory, and the walls of Jericho fell. The people were victorious because they did as God commanded.
God doesn't always act in ways that make sense to us. In Isaiah 55:8, God says, "I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." Sometimes he wants us to do things that run counter to what we believe is a rational course of action. It's in these times that our patience is truly tested. We can become anxious and step out in our own wisdom trying to fix the situation, or we can wait excitedly, anticipating what God will do. Walls fall when we wait on God!
Lord, I don't like waiting! But, thank you for giving me plenty of "opportunities" to develop patience and a desire to wait for your leading and to follow it. You have a plan, it's perfect, and I want to be in obedience to you. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you for making right the messes I've made by rushing ahead of you. Thank you, Lord, because in all things you are amazing!
Showing posts with label wait. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wait. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Parenting - Patience: The Waiting Game!
I occasionally suffer with bouts of impatience! Of late, I've had several such occasions. As luck (this has to be a "God thing") would have it, our children at church are learning this month about the importance of the virtue PATIENCE! God does have a sense of humor, in case you wondered.
Truthfully, I have learned to be patient about a lot of things and with lots of people. I can wait for Christmas and have no problem waiting patiently for my birthday to arrive. I can put off purchasing items I can't afford until I can afford them or the desire to have them passes. I have incredible patience with my precious 2-year old granddaughter. In fact, my daughters probably wonder who this woman is! I'm sure they don't recall the same calm "indulgence" as they were growing up. My patience with other people's teenagers is truly a thing of wonder! But, I have great difficulty standing in line at Wal-mart waiting for the cashier to figure out whether she's charging for parsley or cilantro. Sitting in traffic is far from my favorite way to spend time, and waiting in the doctor's office, when I've taken out time from my busy day and arrived as scheduled months ahead, puts me around the bend.
Patience just isn't something that comes naturally to any of us, but if we are going to grow in our relationship with the Lord and be obedient to Him (Galatians 5:22-23), it's sure something we need! I was curious about how many times we are told in the Bible to "wait on the Lord" or to have patience. Being impatient, I decided rather than try to count them all from my Bible concordance, I'd do what any 21st century learner does, I'd Google it. That only furthered my impatience. The number of random hits was in the millions - really! So, scanning my concordance once again, I confirmed that there are lots of places where we are told to "wait" or to be patient!
Certainly we have plenty of Biblical examples of individuals who chose not to wait. Esau, twin brother to Jacob, is a great one. Esau, the eldest twin and a hunter, gave up his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup prepared by his younger twin, Jacob (Genesis 25:24-34). You'd think being a hunter that Esau would have patience, but apparently, like many of us, he had patience for some things but not all. He gave away something of great value in a moment of weakness; he was in a hurry to fill his belly and didn't stop to think of the lasting and monumental consequences of his impatience.
I have to stop myself when I begin to get all self-righteous about Esau being so dumb! I have been Esau. There have been times in my life when I was in a hurry to have what I thought I wanted. Every time that I failed to seek God's plan or rushed ahead and gave him assistance, I messed up and paid a high price. Thankfully, after far too many experiences like this, I am beginning to learn the importance of waiting on the Lord's time and plan (James 1:4).
As adults who have the responsibility for teaching children and young people the value of patience, we really do need to allow God to develop it in us (I Timothy 6:11). It's an ongoing process. If we are to have credibility when we tell our children to wait or be patient, they need to see us exercise patience (Psalm 37:7; Psalm 52:9; Lamentations 3:26).
Waiting isn't easy. We live in a "hurry up" culture with a "got to have it now" way of thinking. We aren't encouraged to be still and know God (Psalm 46:10) , to meditate on his word (Joshua 1:8) and seek his purposes. But if we want to avoid making the kinds of mistakes that we may regret, we must seek to learn patience - and God is a "learn by doing" kind of teacher. He will put us right in the middle of a situation where we have to choose to rely on him and be patient or rely on our own wisdom and rush ahead of him (Romans 5:3).
So, as I deal with my case of impatience, I am learning to wait, wait, and wait some more. The experience has been hard but not impossible, and I do think I'm gaining strength to be patient. As my mom pointed out, God planned an 11-day trip for the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Because of their impatience, the trip took 40 years! I am learning to wait so the trip is a short one!
Truthfully, I have learned to be patient about a lot of things and with lots of people. I can wait for Christmas and have no problem waiting patiently for my birthday to arrive. I can put off purchasing items I can't afford until I can afford them or the desire to have them passes. I have incredible patience with my precious 2-year old granddaughter. In fact, my daughters probably wonder who this woman is! I'm sure they don't recall the same calm "indulgence" as they were growing up. My patience with other people's teenagers is truly a thing of wonder! But, I have great difficulty standing in line at Wal-mart waiting for the cashier to figure out whether she's charging for parsley or cilantro. Sitting in traffic is far from my favorite way to spend time, and waiting in the doctor's office, when I've taken out time from my busy day and arrived as scheduled months ahead, puts me around the bend.
Patience just isn't something that comes naturally to any of us, but if we are going to grow in our relationship with the Lord and be obedient to Him (Galatians 5:22-23), it's sure something we need! I was curious about how many times we are told in the Bible to "wait on the Lord" or to have patience. Being impatient, I decided rather than try to count them all from my Bible concordance, I'd do what any 21st century learner does, I'd Google it. That only furthered my impatience. The number of random hits was in the millions - really! So, scanning my concordance once again, I confirmed that there are lots of places where we are told to "wait" or to be patient!
Certainly we have plenty of Biblical examples of individuals who chose not to wait. Esau, twin brother to Jacob, is a great one. Esau, the eldest twin and a hunter, gave up his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup prepared by his younger twin, Jacob (Genesis 25:24-34). You'd think being a hunter that Esau would have patience, but apparently, like many of us, he had patience for some things but not all. He gave away something of great value in a moment of weakness; he was in a hurry to fill his belly and didn't stop to think of the lasting and monumental consequences of his impatience.
I have to stop myself when I begin to get all self-righteous about Esau being so dumb! I have been Esau. There have been times in my life when I was in a hurry to have what I thought I wanted. Every time that I failed to seek God's plan or rushed ahead and gave him assistance, I messed up and paid a high price. Thankfully, after far too many experiences like this, I am beginning to learn the importance of waiting on the Lord's time and plan (James 1:4).
As adults who have the responsibility for teaching children and young people the value of patience, we really do need to allow God to develop it in us (I Timothy 6:11). It's an ongoing process. If we are to have credibility when we tell our children to wait or be patient, they need to see us exercise patience (Psalm 37:7; Psalm 52:9; Lamentations 3:26).
Waiting isn't easy. We live in a "hurry up" culture with a "got to have it now" way of thinking. We aren't encouraged to be still and know God (Psalm 46:10) , to meditate on his word (Joshua 1:8) and seek his purposes. But if we want to avoid making the kinds of mistakes that we may regret, we must seek to learn patience - and God is a "learn by doing" kind of teacher. He will put us right in the middle of a situation where we have to choose to rely on him and be patient or rely on our own wisdom and rush ahead of him (Romans 5:3).
So, as I deal with my case of impatience, I am learning to wait, wait, and wait some more. The experience has been hard but not impossible, and I do think I'm gaining strength to be patient. As my mom pointed out, God planned an 11-day trip for the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Because of their impatience, the trip took 40 years! I am learning to wait so the trip is a short one!
Heavenly Father, thank you for your patience with me. I'm so glad you don't throw in the towel and give up on me when I'm so slow to learn or when I am willful and disobedient. You have given all of us the ability to be patient, and you know it's in our best interest that we learn to wait on you. Please help us to rely on your Holy Spirit and your strength to develop patience to wait for your perfect will and timing in our lives. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to wait on you and follow as you lead them. Thank you for being such a loving and patient teacher. Amen.
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