Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred maketh the
heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."
"Lord, I need patience now." Have you ever thought in terms of
that? We are not born with the attribute of patience. Tell a crying
infant to be patient while the bottles are getting warmed. (Yes, I am dating
myself now back to the days of heating the water to place the bottles in.)
Tell a child that an 8 hour drive to the beach will pass quickly. Tell a
tired adult that the sleepless night will soon be over. Patience is not a
virtue that we were born with; rather, it is learned through experiences of
life. We often hear of the patience of Job, but I have never heard of Solomon
as being patient. Waiting for something to happen can cause all kinds of
upheaval inside. Our minds go into overdrive and even our stomachs can become
upset if we allow ourselves to become stressed with impatience. We have
expectations of ourselves and of others. We become anxious if those
expectations are not accomplished according to our timeline. We hear this said
often, and it is very true, - God's timing is not always in accord with my
timing. But the truth of the matter is that God is always on time -
according to His purpose for our lives. I love the song by Karen Peck and
New River that says, "God is right on time even when He is four days
late."
I am still in training, but I want my hope to be placed in the hands of Jesus and then patiently wait for His action in my life.