"The fruit of the Spirit is ... patience." Galatians 5:22
The prayer of many a contemporary person seems to be, "Dear God, I pray for patience. And I want it right now!"
Someone has remarked that a woman who has never seen her husband fishing doesn't know whether or not she has married a patient man. Still another declares, "If you're too lazy to start anything, you may get a reputation for patience."
What is the patience that the Holy Spirit gives? It is, in part, the gift we human beings need because we cannot look around corners or, more importantly, cannot see around the next day.
God's Spirit gives us a gift that overcomes our limited gaze into the future and helps us to endure. Patience is the certainty that we are in God's good hands. It gives us the strength to wait and see because we know that the guarantee of God's promises is always the final word. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, all of God's promises find their "yes" (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Patience is not a "do nothing" attitude. It is an active assertion created by God's Spirit to take hold of the future without fear. Our future is in God's hands.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, all ages are continually in Your sight. Give me patience when the future is not clear. Remind me that my times are in Your hands. Amen.
(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996 (out of print), Concordia Publishing House. For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 27-28 Acts 19:1-20
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