Practicing Patience When God Has You Waiting

Written by Barbara Erochina

Why won’t God answer my prayer?

Some days, it is a lot harder to be patient. When we’re bringing our concerns to the Lord again and again, we grow tired of waiting. It soon begins to feel like our prayers are falling on deaf ears. Often our desire is to take control and just “do the best we can”; it is our fleshly reaction to the silence. We know Galatians 5 lists patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit so we confess our desire to rule our own lives. We ask the Spirit to fill us, empowering and directing us even as we continue to wait on the Lord.

This doesn’t mean our circumstances change.

Our only child remains sick in the hospital, the thread our marriage hangs on continues to splinter, and the hope we’ve held on to for years fades with increasing speed. Having prayed fervently about whatever issue you are facing too many times to count, it’s easy to feel your bank of patience depleting once again. On these days, let these reminders on the nature of patience be an encouragement to you as you continue to wait.
You are not alone in the waiting.

Never to Late to Get Back on Track

Written by Barbara Alpert

Take today’s next step: Not sure what it means to rely on the Holy Spirit? Read this

“[L]et us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Multitudes of people make a resolution to change at the beginning of the year. Most have every good intention to correct the problem, but many give up by February, if not sooner.  Here we are in March. Think back on your own resolutions, are any of them still going strong?

As followers of Christ, often we too set out to renounce particular habits and behaviors, along with solemn promises to embark a more dedicated walk with the Lord. We might pledge to read our Bibles and pray on a daily basis, to faithfully attend church and tithe or to serve in an outreach. However, just like the majority of people who break their New Year’s resolutions, we too may have fallen off track, abandoning our commitment and forfeiting the victory we earnestly desired.

Can believers fall away?

Luke 8:13

It would seem so, according to this verse. But some see another possibility: that this verse looks at how people appear, rather than their true spiritual condition. They suggest the appearance of falling away (that is, turning away from the faith entirely and decisively) reveals that the person never had true faith.

Others, however, say it’s possible to believe for a while. They say the New Testament warns believers to persevere in their faith—a warning different from that given to unbelievers. They say God gives people a free will—something they still have when they commit to Christ.

When You Face Trials

By Suzie Eller


"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3 (NIV)

I planted them at the same time. In the same way. With the same tender love and care. Every time I watered one, I watered the other. Everything was the same ... almost.

One red begonia flower was planted between a crepe myrtle tree and a hydrangea bush, tucked under the protection of the sloping roof. The other flower was planted next to the concrete sidewalk and had no shelter from the pounding rain or scorching sun.

At the end of the summer I was surprised by what I saw.

The little flower tucked under the tree and bush, with just the right amount of filtered sunlight and water, had not grown.

Checking Your Attitude

By Jim Burns

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

A confederate soldier in the midst of some very trying circumstances wrote the words below. I don't know who he was or where he learned this incredible principle of life, but I offer it to you today as one of the secrets of a fulfilled life. Personally, I read this poem often, and I call it my attitude check.

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise.

Perseverance Gets Results

"I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs." (Luke 11:8, The Amplified Bible)

If, as God tells us in 1 Timothy 2:4, it's His will for all men to be saved, why aren't we seeing more of the masses of lost people born again every day? Have you ever wondered that?

I have...and as I've sought the Lord about it, I've come to realize that, for the most part, it's because those of us who are already saved don't pray persistently for those who aren't. Instead of persevering--staying before the Father, praying for them to receive the bread of salvation--like the man in Luke 11:8 did for his friend, when we don't see immediate results, we simply give up and go home.

What we don't realize is this: Perseverance is the key to success in intercession!

Finish What You Start

By Glynnis Whitwer

"'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'" John 4:34 (NIV)

I excel at starting projects. Especially those that include a trip to the office supply store, where I can stock up on new notebooks, file folders and pens. Optimism abounds at the beginning of something new. Then reality hits.

What seemed fun at first is actually hard work. Discouragement sets in. Perfectionist tendencies stifle moving forward. And it's easy to give up rather than finish what I start.

One of my problems is a lack of focus. There's so much I want to do that my thoughts are often scattered. I allow myself to be pulled in multiple directions, intrigued by the possibilities of a new and exciting project. Plus, sometimes I do things just because I can. This approach often leaves me with a to-do list that's seriously un-doable.

FAITHFUL PERSEVERANCE

“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved." Hebrews 10:38-39

Alice Yuan continues her testimony we began yesterday:

“The second trial came from the Communist party. Every day for nineteen years, I had to report to the police station, where for six hours, they put pressure on me. They said that I would never see my husband again, that I should divorce him and that I should give up my faith. With God’s help I kept going. Praying with my eyes closed, I endured the interrogations every day.

“The third trial consisted of the hard work. After I had been pressured by the security police for six hours, I still had to work for eight hours to earn a living. I had to push handcarts filled with building materials. The carts were much too heavy. I was completely exhausted and was already tired before I started. In the winter, it was even worse. Sometimes I had to shovel cement up onto a floor above my head. The work was dirty, hard and cold, but I achieved my quota. The others were surprised and wondered where I got the energy from.

Finding Joy in Difficulties?

Gail Rodgers
Are you confused and not sure what to do or where to turn?

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I have always been a bit uneasy with James 1:2 where Jesus followers are encouraged to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds”. When I find things in God’s word that are hard to understand I “camp” on them for a time and ask God to reveal His wisdom.

Recently I taught four sessions at a weekend women’s retreat. One of the sessions included the wise counsel of 2 Corinthians 12: 9 & 10 where Paul tells us the words the Lord spoke to him when he asked about something that was deeply challenging him in his life. The Lord’s reply was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul goes on to say that because of God’s promise to be his strength right in the midst of his weakness, he can “delight in difficulties”!

Inspired by Joy

Written by Gail Rodgers

Are you feeling ready to walk away from a relationship – are you possibly even considering divorce?  We want to pray for you.  Please tell us how we can pray.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  (James 1:2-4)

A few years ago he lost all he had. Everything. But he found Jesus. He inspires me every time I talk with him. He has embraced God’s word and one of the verses he lives by is this one quoted above from James 1:2-4,

Is Suffering Good For Us?

But ought we get to thinking suffering is 'good'? There have been some contemplative writers and teachers who thought so. We have to think seriously about what God can give us in suffering.

You can learn :
the difference between real fears and illusory fears you (or someone else) whipped up. And you can learn the difference between telling yourself to 'fear not' and actually believing there's a reason not to fear.
to depend on God's grace and active love.
to depend on what's done by those who aren't suffering, and sometimes by others who are. And you learn something about how each of us depends on each other. You learn that more good things happen when you cooperate.
that by yourself, you flail and fall and fail -- and so does everyone else.
to wait, often because you have no power to do otherwise, and sometimes because it just works best that way.
that suffering grabs you and drags you to the place where you discover how much you need God's grace.
that most material things aren't much of a help for the actual suffering.
which material things really count, which you're better off without, and which simply don't matter.
that suffering, like death, has a way of stripping away the differences we-all have created.
that you're not so important after all.
that it's a good thing to let down the walls you use to guard your inner self and your privacy.
why the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news: God loves you and is with you! You're not out there floundering around on your own.
that when you've got little to lose, you're freer to surrender yourself to the gospel.

But if good things can come from suffering, doesn't that make suffering good?

No.

The spiritual gains of suffering don't come from what you're suffering from, or even from the suffering itself. The gains come from the fact that God (and, like God, we ourselves) can take 'bad', 'horrible', and even 'evil' situations and make something good come from them. God enjoys doing that. It's this fact that gives us real reason to hope during suffering. This 'good effect' doesn't change the nature or 'badness' of suffering; it is what it is. A mountain of dung is no less filthy when there's a diamond in it.

The truth is, more often than not, the lessons aren't learned, the goodness doesn't come of it. Those who are broken may remain broken. Suffering destroys and beats people down. The devil uses it to cause confusion, anger, delusion, or resignation. It usually leaves some sort of scar or damage. It is exceptionally cruel to speak glibly of 'spiritual gains', real and/or imagined, to those who live with extreme disabilities or are stuck in the poverty class or who lose a loved one. Not that they too can't find gain or hope or even happiness, because many of them really do. But only some, and definitely not most. Our duty is not to tell them to smile harder or to feed them false hopes, but to make it so that they can live amidst their suffering and perhaps be led forward with their life. They need real hopes, and Christians are called on to help make real hopes take root.

The Holy Spirit does not stop life from having suffering. What the Spirit gives is resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. The Spirit gives the direction and power to make these resources work. The Spirit gives hope, which itself creates perseverance. The Spirit gives wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. And, the Spirit created a body of believers, with the gifts to support and strengthen. In a way, the gifts are geared toward suffering, because spiritual gifts are meant to be for the good of others. Who needs the benefits from those gifts more than those who suffer?

Spiritual gifts are from the Strongest One acting through the weak on behalf of the weakest.

gotquestions  http://www.spirithome.com/suffering.html