On Being Patient

Patience. A quality that I want to posses desperately, but I don't want to go through the rigors of cultivating it. Patience takes time and I'd rather have it be instant. Even if it completely defeats the purpose.

Waiting kind of stinks. But, here's the thing, we have a God who enjoys waiting. He loves the process that our very human hearts fight against. We long for the waiting to be over and He finds delight in the journey. We want the desires of our hearts to be satisfied. Right. Now. But God is more than willing to wait for the perfect moment.

I was spending some time in Psalm 37 yesterday and the constant reminder to wait was being pushed into my mind. Psalm 37 is most well-known for it's fourth verse:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

But, I feel like the real gold in this Psalm is found in the rest of it's verses. It's found in the little commandments laced throughout the Psalm. In fact, the psalm starts with two words:

Fret not.

In modern-day language that means "stop worrying." At the beginning of this psalm David is reminding the readers/singers (and maybe even himself) to not worry. Why? Because he is oh so acquainted with how the human heart lends itself to worry and anxiety. Especially in the midst of waiting for the desires in our hearts to be fulfilled.

The rest of the psalm continues with phrases much like the first:

"Trust in the Lord."

"Be still"

"Wait patiently"

"Fret not"

"Turn away from evil"

"Do good"

"Wait for the Lord"

The Psalm is a reminder that waiting is a necessity in the life of a believer. But, instead of treating it like a necessary evil, we should delight in it. We should not worry, but instead wait patiently. Even when it looks like wickedness is coming against us, even when it seems as though we can come up with a much better solution than Him. We wait.

We wait on the Lord. For what He has planned at the end of the waiting is far better than anything we can come up with in the midst of it. 

So, beloved, wait on the Lord. Be still. Don't try to strive to make things happen in your life. Delight yourself in the Lord, wait for Him, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Enjoy the journey.