A few months ago I did just that...I asked God to give me patience and as this passage says, "Ask and it will be given to you." Boy was Matthew ever right. Ever since I prayed and asked God for patience, He has put me in numerous situations to force me to learn it. Patience is not one of my virtues, nor has it ever been, so I have been going against my nature and everything in my being to try to become patient. It's been a constant struggle to relinquish control and understand that God is God and I am not and His way is SO much better than mine.
A passage that's helped me through this constant battle is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Leaning not on my own understanding means relinquishing control to God and letting Him guide me down the path He has for me. It also means trusting Him even when I don't understand why situations turn out the way that they do, but knowing that He wants what's best for me and He has a good and perfect plan for my life. It's through those times of confusion, pain, and questioning that God makes Himself known.
It's also in those times that God prunes us and molds us more into His image. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." It's not a fun process, but it's a necessary one in order to grow us more in our faith and more into the people God wants us to be. I'm trying not to focus on the pain in the refining process, but to focus on the person God's molding me into. It's actually pretty humbling to know that my Creator, my Abba Father, cares so much for me that He doesn't want to leave me in the state that I'm in. He wants me to be more like Him.
Through all of the difficult times, I've learned to count my blessings and be thankful for what I do have, not what I lack. The things God's placed on my heart, He will provide...in HIS time. God doesn't operate on a 24 hour a day schedule. I've stopped trying to comprehend and understand His timing. I just know that He has His reasons (whether I know them or not) and He will provide in the right time.
I'm just placing my life in His hands as a willing vessel to be used for His glory. Sometimes my vessel cracks with the strains of life and He has to come and heal me and make me whole again. I know I'm not perfect, but God doesn't call the perfect. He calls us all to step out on faith and trust Him and allow Him to use us.
Life isn't about living in a big house with expensive things or having a good paying job. All of those things are temporary. I think that one of the main road blocks to following Christ whole-heartedly is our "stuff." If Christ called you to go serve in China tomorrow, would you go? Would you leave everything behind and go? Many people would wonder what to do with their belongings. Don't get me wrong, it's not a crime to have nice things. It's when we allow those things to dictate Christ's ability to work in our lives that creates a problem. I don't want to come across as though I'm not dealing with this myself. I have a lot of stuff and lately I've really been questioning if I've allowed my stuff to dictate my freedom to go and serve.
We need to examine our priorities. Are we more concerned with living comfortable lives that we neglect our calling and purpose to share Christ with those who so desperately need to hear His truth? We need to invest in things with eternal significance that will outlive us. What are you investing in?
So, now I will get off of my "soap box." I will warn you that I get preachy sometimes, especially when I am passionate about something. I hope this has encouraged you in how you trust God and see His plan. Even if you don't get anything else out of this, I hope you will not take Matthew 7:7-8 lightly. I asked God for patience and He has certainly provided many situations for me to learn it. When you ask, you will receive...
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