Welcome to Pastor's Blog Party! I am delighted that you could join tonight, and I pray that we will have a wonderful exchange in this blog. Let's be honest, yet respectful...informative and not insulting...understanding but not unforgiving.
With that said....why do we ask God for patience, yet we are to unwilling to "wait" for His blessing? So caught up with not extending love to others, but the very first to want forgiveness?
10 comments:
Good Evening Pastor Gibson & All,
This is a great question to ask. Let me be the first to say, I struggle with this question daily. Patience is definitely a virtue. Because, patience is such a great quality to have I am sure all of us desire to be more patient. Practicing patience is challenging, as we interact with others, as we pursue our goals professionally, academically, and personally.
But, because patience is a "desired quality" everyone does not possess it. So, therefore, why do we ask God for patience? It's only natural to ask for something you don't have, we are human.
Our unwillingness to wait on the Lord is the human side of us, but we can change that. Again, patience is a quality that we desire. As we wait we become more eager and intolerant, therefore making us impatient during our wait. But, you know in my own experiences during the WAITING is when I receive MY BLESSING..:) For me, Patience is something I constantly have to Practice during all of my challenges.
As we wait we all need to be faithful. Although, I am not one to quote scriptures...my mother always told me, "Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage. Wait, I say wait on the Lord." (Someone help me out with that verse from the Bible, please!:) We have to be courageous when we wait, we have to expect great things!
But, in sum I think that if we are faithful to God and the more we study the scriptures, being patient becomes a natural quality and no longer a desired trait. I am still working on me! I am working on being patient so I won't miss my blessing as I wait...This reminds me of a sermon Pastor Gibson preached many Sundays ago, "Delayed does not mean Denied!" That is just what practicing patience is, be patient and watch while you are waiting that you will be blessed...think about it!
I am interested to see what others think.
Thank you Lachelle...and it is good to have you with us. The scripture that your mom gave you is her favorite...Psalm 27:14. What troubles most of us is the period between when God speaks His promise and the time when you walk into that Blessing! How many times have we asked for somethings from Him and gotten upset because it didn't come right away? I will tell you, patience is not a destination...it is a journey. Each day I ask that He grant me patience to deal with the challenges and issues that I will face interfacing with others and situations.
Most of us really need to reflect on where we have come from and take inventory on where we are currently. There are areas of growth, but this area is one that is always and ever growing and developing! Thanks for sharing Chelle. Hope all is well up there. I am headed to the city in the morning.
Here is something else to note...patience is going to require a "change" that begins nowhere else but within the individual that is asking/praying/desiring the gift of patience. While we look for one specific request to be filled, there are conditions that first must be met! Why have patience and still no love or change of heart? hummmmmmm something to think about!
Hello Pastor Gibson & everyone logged into the "PARTY" tonight. Pastor Gibson it is so interesting that you have chosen to talk about patience tonight. I have asked God for patience and I tell you one thing...I have had to endure some test that has really tried the little patience I do have. We all have a little patience within us but when its time to exercise it, it seems to disappear.
Waiting seems to be a hard thing for us to do. My favorite scripture in the Bible refers to those who wait. Isaiah 40:31 says that "They that WAIT upon the Lord, shall renew their strength..."There are privileges in our waiting season. We look at waiting as a bad thing and wonder why God has us in such a position that we have to watch everyone else be blessed. Pastor, you preached a sermon just this month title "WWW" which means "Worship While Waiting." What we do while we wait is so vital to WHEN we will receive what God has for us.
It is in our waiting that we have to endure so much, we grow spiritually, and we increase our faith in Him. Well, I should say that is what we should be doing in our waiting. I pose the question here, what are we doing in our waiting while we see others blessed while our blessings are being delayed? God is concerned with how you are going to REACT to others being blessed. Maybe thats why most of us are still in waiting because we have yet to give God praise for blessing someone else. Think about it...its the norm for you to praise God when He does bless you, but when you know you are in "WAIT" for the promise(s) God has made to you and others are being blessed, do you give God praise for those individuals even though you have not gotten yours YET!
You have made a such a valid point, Pastor in that a change does have to take place when you seek God to give you patience. Your asking God to "change" your perspective on being so eager and quick to responding to certain things, people and life situations. This could be a rhetorical question, but can you have patience and not love? Its just like you cant have JOY and not have a PRAISE. The two go hand in hand. Change is indeed going to happen when one has/or is seeking more patience.
Welcome Sister Sharon, glad to have you aboard as well. Waiting is certainly something that we not only should do, but to be honest we are forced to do! It is how you conduct yourself while waiting is the key. The two blind men that sat by the road side in Mark 10:46-52 had to exercise patience and "wait" for Jesus to pass their way before they could get what they needed from Him. But watch this...when they encountered Christ, they had to endure hearing the "followers" of Christ say to them to keep their mouths shut! When they refused to listen to others and recognize that the "wait" was over, they cried out with a "loud" voice, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus did not ask them what they needed..He asked what do you WANT me to do for you. In other words, your wait will turn to Him fulfilling your wants!
Christ, in the 25th Chapter of Matthew tells a parable of 10 virgins that took their lamps out to meet the bridegroom. While 5 of them were foolish for what they did not bring and 5 were wise for preparing for the journey, one thing that they all had in common, they all had to "wait" for the bridegroom. The question is, will you be prepared for his entrance..and patience as well as preparedness will be the key!
Let me know what you think!
Oh my goodness Pastor! Great points made especially with Mark 10:46-52. The blind man was persistent in getting what he wanted from Christ. While he waited, folk tried their best to discourage him and he could have easily gave in to their comments. We can learn alot from this blind man that "WAITED" on Jesus to come by and give him what he wanted.
In our wait we can not allow folk to distract us and make us loose focus on what we have set out to do and what we are seeking from Christ. The blind man's faith is what healed him. While he waited he gave praise (vs. 47) and that's when folk told him to "shut his mouth" There are some folk today that will say that it don't take all that....well YEs it does. When your in desperate need of a blessing or breakthrough...God wants your most "crazy" praise. But I feel the key for the blind man in this text is while he waited for Jesus, he did not allow "FOLK" to dictate his praise.
Thanks for joining me tonight...even if you just dropped in to read what was posted. You still can leave your blog, and I will get back to you. What very intresting and wonderful postings. I appreciate you taking the time and catching the vision. Join me again next week for another topic of discussion.
Have a blessed weekend & don't forget to exercise your rights....VOTE Tuesday, November 4th!
Love and Peace!
Patience the first things that come to mind is sacrifice, willingness to CHANGE, and Faith. So many times I feel like We are like the Isralites God can promise us then show us and free us from so much but because it isnt what we want we start questioning and doubting. From my experiences just when I thought God Why? It was a set up for something better. So many of Us want that microwave miracle three minutes then its done but sometimes you have to prepare gather all your ingredients and stir it up a bit @ a time and then wait and enjoy the taste of something that was made by hand. That is all God wants HE wants us to step back and let him put his hand on our situations. We will go through the same cycle until we learn to just be the passenger and let God drive he already got the directions just be obedient! If He was to give you exactly what you desire right now would you appreciate it??????????
Sister Tiffany, thanks for your comments as well. You are so right with your points. Are we really ready for what we ask Him for or are we just ready for a quick fix to something(s) that are just temporary? We want it and we want it now, but God knows how we will react to certain things that He gives us, and when you have been tried and tested, then you are ready to be "rolled" off the assembly line of adversity to enjoy the benefits of "going through." Patience has its price-tag, but as you mature into it....it becomes PRICELESS! "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..." Isaiah 40:29 says that "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strenght." In other words, you will have periods in your life when you will faint and have no might...but He giveth you all that you need, but when you "J-walk" to verse 31, you will see how your situation will be turned around...but it comes with PATIENCE!
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