{"id":3298,"date":"2016-02-07T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T15:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3298"},"modified":"2016-01-21T19:47:35","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T01:47:35","slug":"choose-to-practice-patience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3298","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Practice Patience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Patience\"<\/a>You can tell a lot about people when they are inconvenienced.\u00a0 And let\u2019s face it\u2026 life is just one inconvenience after another.\u00a0 Most of us want to be patient.\u00a0 We really do.\u00a0 We pray, \u201cLord, give me patience\u2026and give it to me NOW!\u201d\u00a0 But patience is an attribute of God\u2019s spirit that is developed, not given instantly.\u00a0 So God allows us to be inconvenienced to give us opportunities to practice patience.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately society has programmed us to expect instant gratification.\u00a0\u00a0 We want what we want and we want it NOW!\u00a0 And we can pretty much get it.\u00a0 We have microwaves, calculators, Jiffy-Lubes, ATMs and fast food.\u00a0 We have digital cameras, cell phones, Kindles, and Internet.<\/p>\n

But what happens when Jiffy-Lube has a long line of people ahead of you, the cell phone gets stolen, the computer crashes, research goes missing in Cyber space, a virus eats all email contacts, and the system keeps you \u201con hold\u201d for over an hour?\u00a0 Inconvenience!\u00a0 We don\u2019t like to be inconvenienced.<\/p>\n

Then we have to deal with people \u2013 crazy drivers, surly co-workers, demanding bosses, incompetent clerks, oblivious individuals with thirty things in the twelve item checkout lane and clueless cashiers who let them get away with it.<\/p>\n

\"Patience<\/a><\/p>\n

Even loved ones can get on our nerves like\u2026 a fussy baby.\u00a0 Those wah, wah, wahs mean feed me, change me, love me.\u00a0 Little children love to ask questions.\u00a0 Why is the sky blue?\u00a0 Why is the grass green? Are we there yet? \u00a0Are we there yet?\u00a0 Are we there yet?\u00a0 Elderly parents and grandparents tend to moooovvvee sooooo slowly.\u00a0 And wouldn\u2019t life be easier if all our friends and spouses agreed with everything we say???<\/p>\n

But\u2026 who said life was supposed to be easy?\u00a0 Certainly not God!\u00a0 If life was easy we wouldn\u2019t need to develop patience.<\/p>\n

Patience doesn\u2019t just mean waiting until something passes or happens. Patience takes on many forms:\u00a0 restraint, acceptance, steadfastness, endurance, self-control, tolerance, calmness, compassion, understanding, or ability to cope \u2013 qualities worth having.\u00a0 Whereas impatience produces frustration, discontent, anger, agitation, resentment, anxiousness, reckless behavior, and unkind words.<\/p>\n

The Bible exhorts us to be patient because patient people have great understanding (Proverbs 14:29), have a calming effect (Proverbs 15:18), are gentle and kind (2 Timothy 2:24), have a positive influence (Proverbs 25:15), love others (Galatians 5:14-15), and forgive (Colossians 3:12-14).\u00a0 Patient people persevere (James 5:7-11) and wait on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).<\/p>\n

Maybe this is why James tells us to let patience have her perfect work. (James 1:4)<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 God is patient with us.\u00a0 He\u2019s patient with our likes and dislikes, our ups and downs, our foibles and idiosyncrasies.\u00a0 He meets us where we are.\u00a0 We can count on God to fulfill all His promises to us, but it will be with His timing, not ours. \u00a0He is more interested in our spiritual growth than giving us everything we want when we want it. (2 Peter 3:9)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the point\u2026 We need to practice patience because we are not going to get everything we want when we want it \u2013 in life or with God.<\/p>\n

A Chinese proverb says: One moment of patience may ward off great disaster.\u00a0 One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.\u00a0 That gives us a little something to think about the next time we are inconvenienced.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n