Patience is a Virtue

I have always struggled with being impatient…..If I have to wait to get anything, I can get very anxious.

I think many people struggle with this issue all the time…

Seems like the older I get the more patient I become, however, from time to time- I am tested by the trials of life.

I think the hardest thing in life is sitting and waiting for God to answer a prayer. Although I have faith and truly know God will answer all my prayers, I don’t exactly know when, or how. So the challenge is to be patient and just wait.

Just yesterday I had a very good friend of mine go to church with me, after inviting him several times, he finally decided that he would join. So as we sat there and listened to Gods word, his heart was moved. Jesus had started to tug at his heart. As the service came to a close, my friend decided to go up front and give his heart over to Jesus. He decided to repent of his sins and follow Christ.

I was so happy for him, my heart was filled with joy, I even had a few tears roll down my cheek. Little did he know, that about 3 months back, the church had a prayer request card that they had made. This card had a list of three people that you want to pray for in your life. And one of those names was this individual.

God had a plan. He had given me the compassion for this individual. He had given me the desire to pray for him…..and through the power of prayer he renewed his life.

In the last several months I have prayed about many many things. I pray so God blesses me in all aspects of life, that he give me the joy and contentment that keeps me satisfied….So as I sit and watch I notice how many of my prayers are answered right away. But there was one individual prayer that took several months to surface. And I know many people are thinking whats a few months….? Well not significant, but still can be a difficult amount of time waiting.

How many of you have prayed about someone in your life? How many of you have prayed that God give you a significant other in your life?….

Well, many of you have spent years praying about this and nothing. But what if I told you, that your prayers will only be effective if you actually helped God accomplish this mission. I don’t mean to say God needs your help, but often times we are so lazy, and naive we think that God will just hand everything on a platter.

The truth is, if you pray about a spouse- go out and search….Don’t just sit there and idle. I hear so many people in my life complain about how slow things are at work and say its okay- “I pray about it, God will send me something.” Or they say, “I pray about it God will send me a person in my life”….However, these people neglect to do anything to help God out.

If you think that God will give you work by you sitting at home and doing nothing, you are wrong. Many thing are very simple, often times God wants us to go out on our own and help the situation.

Be patient but don’t be lazy, God will help you if you want to be helped. That means putting some effort into life….That means staying faithful and not questioning God, but also living life to the fullest.