Practicing Patience (even when we don’t want to)

Day 12

Scripture

Luke 1:68-69

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in in the house of his servant David.

Devotional

It is often said that “patience is a virtue.”  I wonder if that is just said to those of us who are impatient to make us feel guilty and try to be more patient.  In today’s world we have everything at our fingertips.  Have a question…google it and get the answer in seconds.  No need to spend hours in line to buy something… just go online order what you want and have it delivered to your house.  Hungry but don’t want to leave the house…order from a food delivery service.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for using services that help me be able to not only accomplish all those tasks on my to do list, but to get me more time to be able to spend with my family and friends.  In today’s fast paced world, I’m not sure where we would be if we didn’t have these services.  I just can’t help wondering if there is a correlation to having all these things at our fingertips and how easily people get frustrated, give up, and turn away from God.

The Israelites waited hundreds of years for God to provide a savior.  Multiple generations waited in hopes that the time would soon come. The Israelites were patient and never gave up on God’s promise.

After decades and decades of waiting, Zechariah was told that he was going to be a father and that his son was going to be filled with the holy spirit and turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord.  Now this was hard to believe so he questioned the angel.  Because he did not initially believe the angel, he was told that he would be silent and unable to speak until the day that the prophecy is fulfilled.  

You see an angel of God and he tells you the prophecy of your son and how he will help the Messiah and you aren’t able to physically tell anyone.  You can’t speak again until all the pieces of the prophecy align.  How long will that be?  Imagine how excited he had to be and how frustrating it must have been to not be able to easily share this news with everyone.  

Now, months later and Elizabeth gives birth to their son.  Zechariah still can’t speak.  As they are being asked what his sons name will be and everyone is questioning Elizabeth’s response, it’s not until Zechariah writes on a tablet “His name is John” that his tongue is freed and he’s able to shout out a blessing.  Talk about patience.  

Hearing this it makes me wonder if we even know the meaning of patience today.   It feels like we as a country become increasingly more impatient year after year.

We want what we want right now.  We expect to have an answer to our prayers as we expect to find our answers on google.  We leave little room for hope and time for God to respond.  What would the world look like if we all could be a little more patient and not lose hope?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for all that you have given us. Thank You for sending your son to die on the cross for us.  Please help us to remember not everything has to be instantaneous.  Sometimes we are not ready for what we are asking.  Sometimes we need reminded that all things are in your time and not ours.  It’s in your name we pray, Amen.

Challenge

Take a moment this coming week to practice patience.  Try to give a little grace to the person who isn’t moving as fast as you think they should.  Maybe not honk at that person in the car at the light that is just sitting there looking at their phone.  We don’t know what the next person has going on in their life.  Maybe if we show patience and grace, they will pass that on to someone else.  

By Dawn Swope