The Hurrier I Get
The Hurrier I Get
“Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry put you further behind.” Proverbs 21:5
The Apostle Paul was a get-up-and-go kind of guy. He shared the Gospel in at least 50 cities and would likely have continued sharing if he had not been imprisoned. The energetic apostle must have wondered what possible good he could do stuck behind bars, yet in those quiet hours, he was able to sit down and write his letters to the church. In the stillness of a sedentary life, Paul completed what God wanted him to accomplish, though he would likely never have imagined his sentence to be God's will for his life.
Like Paul, most of us have our ideas of what life should look like. We've got priorities, goals, and obligations. We're all in a hurry. Our employers sometimes breathe down our necks to rush an important project through too quickly, often with poor results -- proving the adage that there's never enough time to do it right the first time but always enough time to do it over again.
If the Internet lags, or our food gets delayed at a restaurant, or traffic is a little heavier than we expected, well, our temper or our mood may come into question.
In this age of instant everything, it is hard not to interpret God's delays as denials. We want what we want and we want it! Yet the discipline of delay is another expression of God's love for us. His timing is perfect. Every. Single. Time.
He's never early and never, ever late. But learning to believe that about Him in the moment is truly a sign of maturity in Him. The more we learn to lean into His promise to provide what we need, when we need it, the more peace we will carry deep inside of us.
+++
While sitting in prison, Paul wrote these words; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," identifying patience as a key fruit of the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-23
Anyone who knows me and understands me also knows that I can be a very impatient person. I don’t like to wait on anything. I rush through daily tasks, and I become frustrated in heavy traffic. I want to get there and get things done, NOW! This is a sinful attitude in my heart that I struggle with on a daily basis, and believe it or not, I am better than I use to be.
When Paul lays out the “fruit of the Spirit” it is interesting to me that Patience is number four in the list. I truly believe these are like building blocks for our lives. Love, the love of God in Christ which we experience in and through the Gospel brings us Joy!
The Joy of our Salvation in Jesus brings us Peace. The Joy Paul speaks of is the rejoicing in our own hearts that we belong to God and we have experienced His love in Christ.
The Peace which comes as a result of Love and Joy in our hearts assures us of God’s love but also that He is God and we are His beloved children. There is nothing He will not do for us and no blessing He will withhold from us.
It is this understanding of Love, Joy, and Peace which results in Patience being present in our lives! Patience is the ability to trust and wait on God’s timing in every area of our lives at every moment of our lives.
It is when we have experienced Love that we can have Joy. This leads to Peace in our hearts by which we can not have calm, settled, peaceful and Patient heart.
Only then can be live out our faith in relation to other people with kindness, goodness, faithfulness. We slow down and truly see people and unique and uniquely loved individuals who God desires to bless and whom God has placed in our lives at that moment to bless through us.
Slow down and rest in God’s Love, Joy, and Peace! Then let the Patience you receive open the way for you to be a reflection of Jesus to the people of this world.
Amen!!!
Blessing and may Love, Joy, Peace, and Patience fill your life today!
Pastor Russ
“Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry put you further behind.” Proverbs 21:5
The Apostle Paul was a get-up-and-go kind of guy. He shared the Gospel in at least 50 cities and would likely have continued sharing if he had not been imprisoned. The energetic apostle must have wondered what possible good he could do stuck behind bars, yet in those quiet hours, he was able to sit down and write his letters to the church. In the stillness of a sedentary life, Paul completed what God wanted him to accomplish, though he would likely never have imagined his sentence to be God's will for his life.
Like Paul, most of us have our ideas of what life should look like. We've got priorities, goals, and obligations. We're all in a hurry. Our employers sometimes breathe down our necks to rush an important project through too quickly, often with poor results -- proving the adage that there's never enough time to do it right the first time but always enough time to do it over again.
If the Internet lags, or our food gets delayed at a restaurant, or traffic is a little heavier than we expected, well, our temper or our mood may come into question.
In this age of instant everything, it is hard not to interpret God's delays as denials. We want what we want and we want it! Yet the discipline of delay is another expression of God's love for us. His timing is perfect. Every. Single. Time.
He's never early and never, ever late. But learning to believe that about Him in the moment is truly a sign of maturity in Him. The more we learn to lean into His promise to provide what we need, when we need it, the more peace we will carry deep inside of us.
+++
While sitting in prison, Paul wrote these words; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," identifying patience as a key fruit of the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-23
Anyone who knows me and understands me also knows that I can be a very impatient person. I don’t like to wait on anything. I rush through daily tasks, and I become frustrated in heavy traffic. I want to get there and get things done, NOW! This is a sinful attitude in my heart that I struggle with on a daily basis, and believe it or not, I am better than I use to be.
When Paul lays out the “fruit of the Spirit” it is interesting to me that Patience is number four in the list. I truly believe these are like building blocks for our lives. Love, the love of God in Christ which we experience in and through the Gospel brings us Joy!
The Joy of our Salvation in Jesus brings us Peace. The Joy Paul speaks of is the rejoicing in our own hearts that we belong to God and we have experienced His love in Christ.
The Peace which comes as a result of Love and Joy in our hearts assures us of God’s love but also that He is God and we are His beloved children. There is nothing He will not do for us and no blessing He will withhold from us.
It is this understanding of Love, Joy, and Peace which results in Patience being present in our lives! Patience is the ability to trust and wait on God’s timing in every area of our lives at every moment of our lives.
It is when we have experienced Love that we can have Joy. This leads to Peace in our hearts by which we can not have calm, settled, peaceful and Patient heart.
Only then can be live out our faith in relation to other people with kindness, goodness, faithfulness. We slow down and truly see people and unique and uniquely loved individuals who God desires to bless and whom God has placed in our lives at that moment to bless through us.
Slow down and rest in God’s Love, Joy, and Peace! Then let the Patience you receive open the way for you to be a reflection of Jesus to the people of this world.
Amen!!!
Blessing and may Love, Joy, Peace, and Patience fill your life today!
Pastor Russ
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