We’re too impatient! If God doesn’t speak to us in the first five
minutes of our prayer time we get up, shrug it off and decide ‘He isn’t
talking today.’ Where’s the tenacity of our spiritual forefathers who
would take hold of God in prayer and refuse to let go until they
received ‘a sure word’ from Him? (See 2 Peter 1:19). There are two
things you can count on as you walk with God: trouble that works for you
and grace to stand while you’re going through it. Have you been praying
for patience? Get ready for trouble! There’s no other way to get it.
Patience grows in the soil of adversity. How do you test the strength of
an anchor? Expose it to the fury of a storm. Understand this: some of
the people you can’t stand right now are the very ones who’ll mature
you! Our problem is – we pray for things but don’t recognise the answer
when it comes. God has a purpose in all things, He also has a process.
As you get to know Him better you begin to recognise both. Here’s how it
works: you ask God for strength and He allows you to go through times
of testing. You ask for wisdom and you get to deal with problems that
require solutions. You ask for success and He gives you the ability to
work – not necessarily harder, but smarter. You ask for favor and He
gives you responsibility. Salvation is a gift, but patience is a reward
for overcoming. So stay where God has you today and learn the lessons He
wants to teach you; tomorrow you’ll be glad you did!
