Patience in a world that teaches “Time is money” and is obsessed with “Picking up the pace”, is a very scarce commodity. We all love our holidays! It’s because we secretly desire a more relaxed lifestyle but we fail to live it. And we fail to live that way, because we lack the patience.
The difficult thing is that our patience doesn’t always lead to what we were hoping for. Have you ever stood in a queue, being your patient self, only to be told that what you were after, has been sold out. Or waited for ages on the phone after being transferred from the one extension to the next, just to be cut off. Not the result you were expecting, and you realise that you will never get back the past 30 minutes of your life.
A few days ago I shared that we had given notice for the house we were renting and had to be out by last Friday. On Tuesday, we still hadn’t found a place to move to. I shared that God had never let us down before and He wouldn’t start now. Believing that He would come through was something I never doubted. But that faith requires patience! On the Thursday morning, we still had no place to go. At that stage we were willing to take any house that was available. Our applications for a few places that we had set our hearts on, had already been rejected, We were running out of options, but refused to become impatient.
And then, late Thursday morning, we got a call to say that our application was successful. This place was far above and beyond what we could ever have imagined. It’s in an area that we have “coveted” about since moving to Geelong (Okay. I know we are not supposed to covet, but nobody’s perfect). Not only that! It’s less than 2km from where Bev teaches,the boys attend school, and where they play soccer 4 days a week. Not only that! There is a great walking trail from the school and soccer club, that leads straight to a gate in our back yard. Not only that! It has ample space that makes it possible for us to begin fellowship groups.
None of this surprises me anymore. I’ve become used to God providing in miraculous ways when I hand things over to Him. This patience goes hand in hand with faith. I know I can trust God with everything in me. He was certainly patient with me and loved me way before I ever gave Him a place in my life. And all those times (even when things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to) when I trusted Him, He took the toughness I experienced in being patient, and used it to “carve out” my life into a canyon of amazing growth.
Trust God and allow Him to carve away at the impatient rocks in your life. It’s not the easiest process, but it’s the most rewarding one when you stand back and see the beautiful canyon He can create from the most desolate life.
Have an amazing day!
Mark Davidson
