I was driving behind a big truck, in front of it was a bus and ahead of the bus was a bakkie and trailer transporting Jo-jo tanks. In between them were various cars. I took this situation into consideration and even though they were moving slowly, I didn’t think that trying to pass would be wise at that stage. Cars were weaving in and out passing the trucks and trying to get ahead. I just followed the truck patiently, listened to the music, and waited till the time was right. At one point the truck passed the bus and I saw that the road was open. All the cars had passed and I could easily pass all three vehicles. I did and drove on. It was so effortless and stress free. That is how we ought to do life. We must wait patiently for God’s good time and then go ahead and do what He says. It’s hard to wait. It’s even harder to wait patiently.
Psalm 37:7-8, “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret – it only causes harm.”
Isaiah 40:31, “But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”
Psalm 41:1’ “I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.”
Thee verses clearly show that there is value in waiting patiently. Romans 8:25, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Here it not only says we must wait, but we must hope for things we do not see. When we see the word ‘hope’ in the Bible, it means a sure thing. It doesn’t mean ‘hope’, like when we say we hope it won’t rain on Saturday because we want to go to the beach. It means that we should believe it and know it will come to pass. So now we don’t just have to have patiently but we have to believe things we can’t see.
We know that God has plans for every one of us. Good plans. Jeremiah 29:1 tells us that. So why can’t God just tell us what the plans are and let us get on with them? Romans 5:3-5 (Message), “There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise when when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary – we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”
So we have to let allow our troubles to build character in us. The thing is that God’s plans are so big and we aren’t always ready to carry out those plans. Not always physically or intellectually incapable, but spiritually inadequate. There can be things in the plan that God has for us that we won’t be able to handle if we don’t have certain character traits. What if God wants you to be an international diplomat, but you don’t have any patience or diplomacy in your character. You are going to have to have to develop those traits and the only way you are going to develop them is by growing them through hardships. There are certain things we can only learn by doing life correctly, we can’t learn them in a university or school. So next time it feels like you want to forge ahead even though there are obstacles, but you don’t have peace, and you don’t exactly have peace that there’s a clear road ahead, hang back a bit and allow the patience and hope to develop. God’s timing is not always comfortable, but it is definitely perfect.
alexfromalexblog 