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Friday, June 10, 2011
Over the past 7-10 days, my family and I have found great entertainment watching this beautiful bluebird prepare and tend to her nest. She daily added to her cluster of eggs until she had laid an even half-dozen, and has since then sat on her nest almost constantly waiting for them to hatch. Assuming this is her first year of life, she likely has no idea what she is even doing; she is driven purely by instinct and yet has more patience without clear motivation than we often do with all the promises of God at our side.
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
-I Timothy 6:11
I’ve often heard fellow Christians warn against praying for patience, being careful to remember that God is unlikely simply to give it to you, but will rather give you something to be patient about. The fact is, though, if we really need patience we shouldn’t allow the fear of inconvenience to keep us from seeking it. Would we never ask God to create in us a heart full of love for fear of Him placing the nearly unlovable in our lives? Would we stray away from a desire for peace just because He might teach us to trust in Him by way some way we’re uncomfortable with? Patience is a necessary element of any good Christian’s life, and deciding we don’t really need it (e.g., “That’s just how I am!”) is like deciding we don’t really need righteousness, Godliness, faith or love.
All of us, no matter how young or old in the Lord we may be, undoubtedly have much room for growth in Him. If you’re like me and often struggle in the area of patience, take a lesson from the bluebirds and rest assured in the truth that the rewards of waiting on God far outweigh the costs of doing so. It may not always be easy, but it’s always worthwhile.
6 comments:
i love that you said this about praying for patience. i hear the same silly talk about not asking for it, but the truth is i need it greatly and, raising 4 little boys, it seems to be at the top of my prayer list for myself!
my recent post: you do not have to get divorced
I pray for patience all the time and sometimes when something happens that causes me to be impatient and my brain is in gear, I reckon God is giving me opportunity to 'practice' patience. Excellent post.
God bless
Tracy
My lack of patience and high anxiety is certainly something that God and I are working on! :) I like what Vance Havner wrote " Simply wait upon Him. So doing, we shall be directed, supplied, protected, corrected, and awarded." Sometimes it is very hard to wait patiently in every situation, but if we have a desire to do His will, we can approach every situation with time and thoughtfulness. :)
You are right Dakota, we all need patience and as you, I have heard the samething about praying for patience but what would we do if we didn't have it. We pray for other things so like you have said, we need to pray for patience also. What a great post, it puts things together for us. Blessings to you.
Great post! It was really encouraging to me! Thanks for sharing! :)
In Christ,
Karissa :)
I have thought of you often as I learn from nature around me. I like this message of the bluebird. Patience I am not good at. My mentor recently told me of an old Haitian proverb saying a bird builds a nest one branch a time. That has been a good visual for me as I try to be patient in different settings. We all have many areas to grow in. Thanks for your ministry of nature and His word.
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