In our fast-paced world, patience can feel like an easy quality to forget. It’s often the first thing to go when we’re overwhelmed with the life around us. We have been conditioned to crave instant gratification and quick problem-solving, forgetting that real growth and progress takes time. This can be especially true when it comes to understanding and trusting God’s plan for our lives.
There are so many characters in the Bible that had to wait years, even decades, to see God’s promises fulfilled. Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Joseph, David, and many more have stories that remind us that God operates beyond our understanding of time. His timing isn’t always aligned with ours, but we can hold onto the truth that his timing is always perfect.
So, what does it look like to be patient with God’s plan and timing? It means trusting in his wisdom and goodness. It means believing that he knows what’s best for us, even when his plans don’t align with ours. It looks like surrendering our need for control and letting go of our anxieties about the future. It’s about leaning into faith and embracing the unpredictability of life with peace, hope, and courage.
Patience also means enduring periods of waiting with grace. Waiting shouldn’t be a passive activity, but rather a time of active preparation and growth. These seasons are an opportunity to deepen our faith, develop our character, and align our desires with God’s. It’s in these moments of waiting that we often experience the most profound and life-changing spiritual growth.
I remember when I was single and in, what felt like, a very long waiting period. I was waiting for God to bring me my husband because I truly felt like I was ready for that next step of life! For a long time, I didn’t this time of waiting as a good thing. I felt like I was on the sidelines while everyone else was in this game called “marriage.” I felt like I was just waiting around until someone good enough came my way. But as I continued to pray through that tough season, I saw that God wasn’t making me wait as a punishment. He was continuously preparing me for what he was going to do in my life. I began to see that season as a time to put all my effort into deepening my faith and relying on God on complete me, instead of looking for completion in another imperfect human. So I stopped waiting passively, and started waiting expectantly and purposefully. Once I was able to shift my perspective, the waiting season became so beautiful and life-changing for me. I am stronger, more confident, and I have a deeper relationship with God because of it, and I would never change or take away that part of my life.
Growing in patience allows us the beautiful chance to experience God’s peace. The more we trust in his timing, the freer we will feel from any worries and anxieties about the future. We can rest in the assurance that our lives are in the hands of a loving God who has our best interests at heart. This peace surpasses our circumstances, allowing us to navigate life’s ups and downs with a calm and steady spirit that we can only receive through a relationship with God.
In a world that glorifies instant gratification and quick results, patience is very countercultural and unnatural for us. But it leads us on a journey of surrender, growth, and peace, and allows us to embrace God’s plan for our lives, even when it doesn’t align with ours. So, let’s continue growing in our patience and trusting that, in God’s perfect timing, his plans for us will be fulfilled.
Here are few verses I want to leave with you for when you’re struggling with patience and it’s hard to trust God’s plan for your life.
Romans 8:25, “For if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for this new day full of new mercies. I pray over each person reading this right now, that they would draw near to you, and you draw near to them. Thank you for the opportunity to know you deeper and grow in our faith each day. Lead us closer to you, keeping our eyes focused on the things above and not the things of this earth. Lord, when things are difficult and not planning out like we thought, may we lean further into you and trust your plan for our lives. May we rest in the truth that your ways are always better. To you be the glory and honor! Amen!
In our fast-paced world, patience can feel like an easy quality to forget. It’s often the first thing to go when we’re overwhelmed with the life around us. We have been conditioned to crave instant gratification and quick problem-solving, forgetting that real growth and progress takes time. This can be especially true when it comes to understanding and trusting God’s plan for our lives.
There are so many characters in the Bible that had to wait years, even decades, to see God’s promises fulfilled. Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Joseph, David, and many more have stories that remind us that God operates beyond our understanding of time. His timing isn’t always aligned with ours, but we can hold onto the truth that his timing is always perfect.
So, what does it look like to be patient with God’s plan and timing? It means trusting in his wisdom and goodness. It means believing that he knows what’s best for us, even when his plans don’t align with ours. It looks like surrendering our need for control and letting go of our anxieties about the future. It’s about leaning into faith and embracing the unpredictability of life with peace, hope, and courage.
Patience also means enduring periods of waiting with grace. Waiting shouldn’t be a passive activity, but rather a time of active preparation and growth. These seasons are an opportunity to deepen our faith, develop our character, and align our desires with God’s. It’s in these moments of waiting that we often experience the most profound and life-changing spiritual growth.
I remember when I was single and in, what felt like, a very long waiting period. I was waiting for God to bring me my husband because I truly felt like I was ready for that next step of life! For a long time, I didn’t this time of waiting as a good thing. I felt like I was on the sidelines while everyone else was in this game called “marriage.” I felt like I was just waiting around until someone good enough came my way. But as I continued to pray through that tough season, I saw that God wasn’t making me wait as a punishment. He was continuously preparing me for what he was going to do in my life. I began to see that season as a time to put all my effort into deepening my faith and relying on God on complete me, instead of looking for completion in another imperfect human. So I stopped waiting passively, and started waiting expectantly and purposefully. Once I was able to shift my perspective, the waiting season became so beautiful and life-changing for me. I am stronger, more confident, and I have a deeper relationship with God because of it, and I would never change or take away that part of my life.
Growing in patience allows us the beautiful chance to experience God’s peace. The more we trust in his timing, the freer we will feel from any worries and anxieties about the future. We can rest in the assurance that our lives are in the hands of a loving God who has our best interests at heart. This peace surpasses our circumstances, allowing us to navigate life’s ups and downs with a calm and steady spirit that we can only receive through a relationship with God.
In a world that glorifies instant gratification and quick results, patience is very countercultural and unnatural for us. But it leads us on a journey of surrender, growth, and peace, and allows us to embrace God’s plan for our lives, even when it doesn’t align with ours. So, let’s continue growing in our patience and trusting that, in God’s perfect timing, his plans for us will be fulfilled.
Here are few verses I want to leave with you for when you’re struggling with patience and it’s hard to trust God’s plan for your life.
Romans 8:25, “For if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for this new day full of new mercies. I pray over each person reading this right now, that they would draw near to you, and you draw near to them. Thank you for the opportunity to know you deeper and grow in our faith each day. Lead us closer to you, keeping our eyes focused on the things above and not the things of this earth. Lord, when things are difficult and not planning out like we thought, may we lean further into you and trust your plan for our lives. May we rest in the truth that your ways are always better. To you be the glory and honor! Amen!