PATIENCE? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! WHY SHOULD I BE PATIENT?

SCRIPTURE:
So he did what the Lord had told him.  
He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.  
(1 Kings 17:5)

MEDITATION:
Are you a patient person?
Paul tells us that perseverance (patience) is a gift from the Lord.
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 
(2 Thessalonians 3:5)

James tells us to allow perseverance become a part of our lives.
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature 
and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:4)

When we practice patience, other things will fall into place.
Why?
Because we are quenching our own desire to be in control 
and waiting on the Lord and His timetable.

We can see the problems that can result from a lack of patience:
He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to 
Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt 
offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt 
offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul 
went out to greet him. “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, 
“When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the 
set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, 
‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not 
sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” 
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the 
command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established 
your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; 
the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler 
of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” 
(1 Samuel 13:8-14)

A lack of patience can cause disobedience.
Saul’s lack of patience (and his resulting disobedience),
caused him to miss out on God’s blessings.
Not only that, but it impacted many other people around him.
Instead of Saul's kingdom becoming a lasting dynasty,
the people would now have to adapt to a new ruler.

Ultimately the people benefited because their new ruler was David ,
who was a man after God’s own heart.
This is the kind of person we can respect 
and the kind of person we should strive to be.
A man after God’s own heart is one with patience that leads to obedience.

Elijah was a man of patience and obedience.
When God told him to go to the Kerith Ravine, 
he obeyed…and he stayed there.
He may have had some restlessness and twinges of impatience, 
but he remained steady and did as he was told.

ACTION:
Do you allow your impatience to get in the way of God’s plans?
What blessings could you be missing out on, due to your impatience?
Think about the difference in Saul’s life, 
if he had only waited the rest of one day.
However he decided to take control, and missed out on being blessed by the Lord.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I know that my selfishness often gets in the way of Your
plans for me. I know that I should trust You more in all things, so help me
to increase my patience. I want to readily accept Your timetable so that I
will not miss out on Your blessings. Your Word has shown me how patience
can improve my obedience to You. You know me better than I know myself,
so I ask You to teach me to become a person of patience, who will trust You
in all things. Help me to stop responding to my own thoughts about how things
should be, and to patiently wait for You.”