Friday Fight 187: Our Spiritual Patience

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF187.

How often have we been in hurtful or chaotic situations, and instead of trying to remain calm and praying, we instinctively place ourselves at the center of everything and ask those around us to be more accommodating? It happens to all of us at some point. Our underlying skewed perspective or control-seeking personalities often carry this into our spiritual lives and expect God to revolve around us. How does this happen, and what spiritual fundamentals can we apply to maintain a healthy perspective?

Our Spiritual Patience:

Let's begin with a fundamental truth and a much-needed reminder that our life and everything we have is because of God and is for His glory. Therefore, our lives should revolve around Him, not vice versa. In our life journey, He constantly pursues and protects us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides and corrects us. Longer growth depends on our ability to surrender fully. In our community, as we journey together, are we working to revolve our lives around God, or do we place ourselves in the center of everything and ask Him and everyone else to revolve around us? Like many of these posts, genuine reflection will entail spending time in prayer.

In Exodus, God wanted the Israelites to bring their honest selves to Him for His plan. Waiting on God can make us impatient, vulnerable, and even scared. Yet God never leaves us where He finds us. Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still" explains Moses, telling the people not to be afraid as God is about to deliver them. Whether it's waiting to be delivered of something or the chapter God has revealed next, that time spent waiting is crucial for our growth, which leaves us with an essential question. Can we remove ourselves from the center of everything and say YES without adding our own stipulations? For some reason, many of us see our waiting time as a waste when, in most cases, it is the most impactful to who we become and our future surrender patterns.

Last week, God used a trip to a bookstore to help clarify this lesson for me. My husband purchased a road map for traveling in preparation for areas where his cell service is compromised. At first, I giggled, thinking about how many times we got lost before cell phones and GPS. Even though we used maps and written directions, getting lost was part of the journey; it wasn't a big deal to be unsure where we were or when we would arrive. This is different for those enjoying modern-day conveniences.

In the days to come, let's reflect on the culture we are creating while we journey through life. Doing so will help us build our spiritual patience when we feel lost and afraid and surrender to our complaints about the longevity of our journey. Practice gratitude and trust in God's plan, even when it's difficult to understand. Stop complaining and be patient; we get there when we get there!

Pastor Shannon

New Life Church