Patience Produces Endurance

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help up develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” Romans 5: 3-5

I (Jessica) went home over the weekend to spend some time with my family and relax. Saturday morning I would have have been quite content on the couch with my Mom drinking coffee; however, I decided to go for a run because I am training for another half marathon. Reluctantly, I started off my run stiff, I was freezing, my legs felt like the weighed a million pounds, my chest was hurting more like burning, and running up an incline on gravel is flat out HARD. I wanted to give up so bad because I felt like I was running at the pace of a turtle; however, I continued to push forward in hopes that my run would get better. Finally, I reached some level ground and I start picking up my pace. My pace continued to increase greatly throughout the run, and I was able to actually enjoy the run. Even though my run started out awful, it ended up being one of my better runs. I did not give up in the beginning when it was brutally hard, and I kept driving forward even though I had doubts and was experiencing physical pain. I find so much truth in this verse, "And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." Hebrews 12:2.

Life can throw strong punches, and they will hurt if you do not have defense against them. God is your defense. Life can seem to be just like the beginning of my run, unbearable and hard. Do you ever feel like you can not move through life one second longer because you feel as if you are carrying more than you can bear ? Do you ever question if you are ever going to get an answer to prayer ? Yep, we live in a twisted problematic world; however, God is right by your side and he will help you push on though anything, it takes endurance though. 

To endure means: "Inch by inch, anything is a cinch"

To endure means: "There is no gain without pain."

To endure means: "When faced with a mountain, I will not quit. I will keep on striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath . . . or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine, with God's help"

We all want our lives to run smoothly without problems, but without adversity there would be no challenge to push to be successful. Everyone would just be on even ground, there is no glory for God in that type of lifestyle. We cannot always get what we want when we want it, that is just life and you know that, but do you accept it? When we can not see any good in our lives and everything seems to be up in the air, you must find the strength not to give in, instead push twice as hard. You cannot push harder without God, and all you have to do is put your FULL trust in Him and ask for his help. We all get impatient, but you must not let those feelings control you or else you are going to be pushed to exhaustion and failure. God is not trying to tease you or ignore your requests about what you desire, instead he is building your endurance while you are waiting. Align your desires with God by praying, and in His time through the endurance that he produces in you, the blessing will come.

You may be asking well how long am I going to have to suffer through this--  I can only take so much. God will not push you harder than what you can handle, He knows what He is doing. Give thanks for everything that you do have and do not focus on what you do not have; by doing this you are expressing trust to God. If you keep your mind set on what you want you are going to completely miss what He has planned for you. 

I know that waiting for what you want seems impossible and at times it is painful in the midst of the process. However, I do know that God has a purpose behind what He is doing in your life. God is never going to fail you because He loves you more than we can fathom. God's love is your strength, and it will hold you together. Constantly remind yourself that nothing that keep you from His love, and that is your internal push towards eternity.

Whenever you receive what you have been patiently waiting for it is going to be SO rewarding and fulfilling because you know that it is fully deserved because you waited patiently. You did not give into your own selfish desires to try and seek out what you wanted on your own, instead you stuck it out with God. Do not give into those temptations of giving up, just endure everything and keep moving forward. Do not ever back down or let negative thoughts win you over. The problems that you are facing do not define you, God defines you, and all you have to do is keep moving ahead in strong faith with a heart that is patient to his plans. Your patience will pay off, and the moment you start to fade just remember this, "Because he (Jesus) never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God." Hebrews 12:3 The Message

Much Love,

Jessica

Waiting on God and HIS timing

Have you ever heard, "good things come to those who wait"? This statement is so true in all aspects of our lives, especially when it comes to God's timing. I think that learning to have patience is a struggle for everyone, but once you learn how to be patient it makes life so much easier. 

I (Savannah) can remember when I was little and I couldn't wait for my birthday. I would be so excited for my party and it would be all I thought about for weeks. One particular year, my parents had a huge Barbie cake made for my party. I thought that it was so amazing and I couldn't wait to show everyone. Well, my little 7 year old self decided I was going to take matters into my own hands and pick up that big Barbie cake to show everyone. How do you think that turned out? Yep, it fell flat on the floor and along with the cake, I was absolutely crushed. 

Now, what if I would have waited on my parents to help me? What would have happened if I would have been patient and let them hold the cake? The outcome would have been much prettier, I can promise you!

Well, our relationship with God is very similar. Are there times in your life when you want to take matters into your own hands? I know that for me, it is something I struggle with often. Many times I think that I know what's best for me and I don't take the time to wait on the Lord. However, I have found that the outcome is never fully satisfying. Only God and His plan can satisfy your desires, dreams, and plans. Without Him working in your life, you will never be 100% happy with how life is going. In the end, if you try to take matters in your own hands, your cake will be crushed. 

So, how do you keep from dropping your cake? 

WAIT ON GOD AND HIS PERFECT TIMING!

I want you to think of something in your life that is causing you to be inpatient. It could be a relationship, a job, future plans, etc.

How is it going? Are you getting frustrated? Do you find yourself living only in the future and not enjoying the present that God gives you each day?

If this is you, I want to encourage you to give it over to God. Pray that He will fill you up with patience about the situation and allow Him to take control. Allow Him to take the cake out of your hands so you don't drop it. I can guarantee that it will take such a burden off of you and you will be able to start enjoying the present and stop worrying about the future. If we all start waiting on His timing and forget our own, big things will take place! He is going to begin to work things out in your life that you couldn't do yourself. You just have to be willing to wait. Good things come to those who wait. It's that simple friends.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14

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Savannah

To be Patient is to Show Yourself Christ-Like

I'll be honest with y'all, when I realized I would be writing today on God's patience with us I was kind of confused.. I was so lost on where to even begin. It's one of those things that I know is true yet I've never really understood the depth of the truth of God's patience with us. Once I started really digging in and reading my bible and discovering about God's patient with us I came up with two views of God's patience and I have really been rocked with this truth!! The first is that we can ALWAYS return to Him no matter what, he always stays the same! And second, God having patience with us is what gives us the ability to have patience with others!

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 5:11-32 we are told the story of a son who strayed away from his father after he gave him his share of his assets. The son left town and went off and spent all he was given. Then a severe famine struck and he was left with nothing. Eventually he had to shamefully return to his father. He was sure his father would write him off because of the things the son had done, but instead, to the son's amazement, "while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15:20) This story is meant to reflect to us the patience that Jesus has with us. He doesn't care what we've done in our past. He wants us with Him. Regardless of the "bad" things we think we've done the Lord will rejoice ALWAYS and throw his loving arms around us when we return to Him. Our God is a God of love, mercy, and PATIENCE, not a God of judgement.

The second thing I think it extremely important when understanding God's patience with us is that not only is His patience a foothold for our patience with others, His patience with us is like a great comforter. God is actually called "God of patience and consolation" (Romans 15:5) because he has such great patience with us. We must become like-minded and imitate Christ's example when our patience is tested.

God's patience is a fountain of comfort because it is proof of His grace.


Think about it like this: If God has patience with unbelievers, think how much patience He has for those who live their lives according to His will. If God were not patient, salvation would be impossible. God's promises, despite of our weaknesses, still hold true. THAT IS GRACE.

My challenge for y'all as we continue through this week is to imitate God's patience as we deal with other people. I know it is SO easy to get frustrated with other people, trust me, I work in a Kindergarten classroom with 17 five and six year olds, I know how easy it is to loose your patience, but we would be unlike Him if we were to loose patience with others. To be patient is to show yourself Christ-like and prove that you know Him!!

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect"-Matthew 5:48

Be blessed,

Jamie

Waiting for the Harvest

I (Nicole) don’t know about you, but patience just might be the biggest struggle of mine.  I’ve always been the girl with a mile long list of life plans.  Since I was a little girl, I have “known” when everything would happen and how my life would go.  But, like it so often happens, God’s plan has been different than my plan.  And, to be honest, it has frustrated me.  What if we want something that’s GOOD?  Maybe you want God to move in your marriage, in your friendship, or in your work place.  Surely God wants that, right?  Absolutely!

God wants good things for you (Jer. 29:11), but those things might not happen in the way that you imagined.  I was talking to a friend recently and as she told me about a current situation she was in she said this, “I just rest in the fact that God is helping me to pour into her the way he wants me to, even though my way would be drastically different.”  Wow.  What truth that holds.  Even though we may want the same things that God wants doesn’t mean that those things will happen when and how we want them to.  From the words of Paul in Romans 11:18 “You are just a branch, not the root.”  God is the only one capable of making the decisions.  He is the root.  He is the one that knows all.  We just grow out of him and without him we couldn’t grow on our own.  Oh, what a vital thing to remember.  Just the other day I had to remind myself, “Nicole, you are NOT God!”  It seems simple and silly, but so often my actions don’t say that He’s God.  They say that I try my hardest to do his job.

Waiting on his will is something I struggle with and it can be a place of discouragement for me.  But, if we are planting good seeds, there is no need to be discouraged!  Check out what Galatians 6:7-10 say…

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

If we continue to plant in response to what God is calling us to do, we WILL reap the harvest… at the right time. 

Are you discouraged that you don’t see God working in the way that you’d hope?  Maybe God has different plans for that situation.  Maybe his plans are BIGGER and BETTER for the plans that you have for yourself.  Keep sowing the good seeds.  Keep doing what the Lord wants.  You will harvest the good crop exactly when the Lord planned it. 

Having patience is hard, but it’s worth it.

Don’t be discouraged.  Keep planting seeds.

The time of the harvest will come.

via

Nicole