Patience & Growth

The past few weeks have been about just that...patience and growth. Patience is a word that I have grown to despise. A long time ago, I asked God for patience and I learned that when you really do ask, you will receive. (don't doubt it!) God tested my patience back then and the past few weeks He's really taught me what true patience is all about.


Starting three weeks ago, I started waking up at 5:30 am to be able to spend time in God's word, focusing on Him first thing in the morning. It's become a time that I really cherish and look forward to. I've grown more spiritually in the past few weeks than I have in a long time. God's taken that time I've devoted to Him to show me more about Him and more about myself and things in my life that I need to change. He's given me a renewed passion for His word and to grow closer and closer to Him.


God really convicted me in the area of my finances. I haven't been a good steward of what I've been given and I haven't been as focused on how I can help further His kingdom through my giving. It's ironic that when God speaks to you about something, sometimes he pounds it into you. Throughout the past week, in the devotional I've been reading along with my scripture reading, it's been speaking on the very topic of money and being a good steward.


Matthew 6:20 says, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." This is a phrase that many of us have heard time and time again. This time it sunk in. When Peter preached the gospel on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, 3,000 people became believers. Since many of them were undoubtedly poor, the early church had to give to meet their needs. As a result, believers began selling their property and possessions, sharing them with all as they have need. That is what it means to lay up treasure in heaven...realizing that "stuff" doesn't matter. People matter and furthering God's kingdom matters. To lay up treasure in heaven is to be generous and ready to share the riches God has given to us, instead of hoarding and stockpiling them.


If you look back at Matthew 6:19, it reads, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." In that time, wealth was identified in commodities such as: garments, grain, and gold/precious metals. Garments in the Bible were always an expression of wealth, but there is one problem with garments, moths eat them. Have you ever noticed that moths don't eat what you wear, only what you store? Nothing we own is completely safe from destruction or theft and even if they remain safe throughout your lifetime, you can't take them with you when you die. The question was posed, "Are you putting your treasure in a safe place?" Wow...take a minute to dwell on that in your own life. That's powerful stuff right there.


God really spoke to me about letting go of my grasp and worries about finances and to trust Him completely with it all. Last Sunday, I placed a check in the offering plate. It was made out for more than the 10% I would give. I wanted to give more. I can't describe how excited I was to put that check in the offering plate. Once I did, an overwhelming peace and joy came over me. It was a freedom I haven't experienced in a long time. I think it only comes from having an eternal perspective and a heart that truly understands what's important in life.


God also spoke to me through the sermons at church the past few Sundays. We're working our way through Luke chapter 8. This particular Sunday, we were focusing on verses 1-15...the parable of the sower. Many times I've heard and read these verses, but few times have I come to understand it the way that I do now. These verses focus on the HEART of the HEARER. It's all about the condition of the heart. The seed that fell on the rocky soil is a shallow heart with shallow roots. When persecution comes, they run. The seed that fell among thorns is the divided heart. Other things grow as quickly as the seed, but there's not enough room in the heart for anything else. It's easy to get caught up in the "weeds" (the world). Other things become the priority and the Word is choked out. The good soil is a fruitful heart where God's Word is welcomed in. It stays the course, even when things of the world press in...God still remains the priority. The challenge was "Consider the condition of your heart (your soil). Is your heart so hard that you can't hear God? Are you excited about God one minute and on to something else the next? Is your heart divided? Is it ready for more of God?" Which is the most true of your life?


I have nothing to hide, so I'm going to be honest. This sermon hit home for me. I realized that I was like the seed that landed in the thorns. I've allowed the things of this world to choke out my passion for God, His Word, and His work. I don't want to be caught up in the weeds any more. Since that sermon, my prayer has been that God would redirect my focus, my desires and passions so that He will continue to be the priority in my life.


It's ironic that throughout the past few weeks, I've been reading Jeremiah, all the while God has been molding me and shaping me more into the woman He wants me to be. In Jeremiah 18:2-4 it says, "Go down to the potters house, and there I will give you my message. So I went down to the potters house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him." When I read those words, I smiled. This is exactly what God has been doing to me the past few weeks. I am but marred clay in His hands, but he fashions me into a beautiful pot, as seems best to Him. God has a plan for my life and He knows the woman that He wants me to become and He is ever fashioning me more and more into that person. Praise God I am a new creation in Him!


The renewed passion God has given me can be summed up in Jeremiah 20:9, "But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot." I hope those words have rekindled a blaze in your own heart. This is how each and every one of our lives, as Christians, should be. They should burn like a wildfire, so much so that we cannot keep it inside! We must share it with others. It's like hiding a light under a jar. (this was the following week's sermon...ironic? I think not!) (Luke 8:16-21) Light is how our lives thrive. The statement is repeated in scripture, "He who has ears, let him hear." Those who hear well will gain a better understanding and knowledge of God. Be careful how you hear. The kind of hearing that produces fruit and a greater experience of God is not audible, but is has to do with ACTION. Careful listening is not about concentration; it's about obedience.


Then, this past Sunday, the sermon was about Faith, Luke 8:22-25...the story about Jesus calming the storm. Many of us have faith in between a problem and it's solution, but when things are going fine, we don't have faith at all. The disciples woke Jesus, because they were afraid the boat would sink with the strong waves. Just like this situation, when problems come, we become religious....we seek God's help. What is commonly overlooked in this story is the fact that Jesus is with them in the boat. He's with us today in the midst of our storms and difficulties. Jesus didn't say, let's go drown, but a lot of us live that way. Faith is placing your trust in a situation with no definition. Where's your faith?


I've learned a lot about the character of God the past few weeks as well. In Jeremiah, the people were constantly disobeying God and God gave them a chance to repent time and time again, but they continued in their sinful ways. Even once God told them they would be destroyed and gave them a chance to repent, the people didn't. How merciful He is! We make Christianity out to be so difficult, when all it is is putting God first, loving His people, and bringing Him glory through sharing His word to others and caring for others. We've made Christianity out to be traditions, not true faith and belief in Christ. Imagine how different things would be if we let go of our legalism, tradition, and materialism and truly sought Christ. Let everything else fade. It doesn't matter in the scheme of things. The only thing that matters in this world is our relationship with Christ and making Him known.


The biggest struggle the past few weeks has been being patient. I've asked God for wisdom and rest in Him and I truly believe He's granted it. I've come to realize how much I try to make my timing God's timing. When I do that, I only cause myself pain, because my timing will never be God's timing. He knows best and He knows what I need when I need it. I have to rest in the knowledge that He does know what's best for me and anything I try to do to speed up His timing is frivilous. I'm not going to let patience be a battle for me anymore. I'm going to give in to the wait and enjoy the growth process along the way. God's used this time of waiting to grow me in Him. I can't think of a better use of this time.