One of the hardest virtues to obtain is patience. I know for me it is. In all honesty, when I want something it’s hard to wait for it. All sorts of things make it hard to wait; a relationship, position, fast food, that new car, that degree, and more. It’s too easy to just expect it all at a snap of a finger. If only we had a time machine to speed up the process of achievement. In life, we can all use a little help in this and I only write this because I feel like it’s a weakness of mine to wait for things I love; to wait for God.
With all the dreams and visions we have for our lives it makes it hard to wait for the fruition of the things we desire. In Psalm 37, we see a consistent teaching to wait for God and commit our ways to the Lord and then He will bless us. Deepening our conviction on what we’re living for is extremely important. When we live for our plan it gets complicated and confusing. We get so stuck in the “how comes” and the “why nots”. And we forget that it’s not about us. In turn, we begin to think that it is about us. Every step we take starts to be for ourselves and we get hasty, impatient, and distrought. Eventually, with all these steps we’re taking, we leave God’s plan entirely. Sadly, I’ve been there. I wasn’t willing to give up my plan for the Lord’s plan; last year I walked away from Jesus. One huge cost I couldn’t count was a relationship. To me, I wanted to be married, right then and there. There wasn’t anything else I wanted. And when the challenge from God came to give up the relationship, I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t because I was more important than God. I ended up leaving the Lord for my own selfishness. I got engaged and got my own apartment. Had everything I wanted. Over time, my life began to fall apart and my relationship crumbled with it. My plan failed before my eyes. It took losing my life to see I wasn’t who I thought I was. I didn’t know what was best. And I needed to wait for God. Today, I rejoice in the fact that I’m freed by God’s grace from my sins. June 19th, 2011 I was restored to my Lord. I dropped everything for His plan; went from being engaged to being re-engaged for the Lord! Today I’m excited to be a part of what God has in store for all his people. Challenged by the call to ministry I pray we at ASU can always remember who we’re living for and to learn to wait for the Lord!
God’s plan is simple; 1Timothy 2:3-4. That’s it. Stop for a second and just soak that in. Slow down. Think about it. Why are we so affected by trivial situations? It’s so easy to get caught up in our life and what we want. With that, we forget the simplicity of our creator’s plan for the world. Every step we take, will lead us somewhere. What steps did you take today? Isaiah 48:17 is one of my favorite scriptures to recall when I begin to think it’s about my plans. This scripture reads, “This is what the Lord says-your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; ‘I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
God knows what’s best for you; I pray for you to bring your plans to the Lord and throw them in His hands and wait for him to place his in yours.
Thank you,
Marcel Turner
