Better to be Patient than Powerful

Patience is what we should pray for, but when we do.....it seems we encounter even more reasons to pray "Lord, give me patience, but PLEASE give it to me NOW!!!"

As I type this post I'm asking God to forgive me for my IMPATIENCE. I loved my neat and tidy world here in Tulsa. Beautiful home. Wonderful friends. Sweet family members. Awesome churches. Needs met. Many connections for faith and outreach. THEN, my home sells and I hear God's voice and feel His nudge...."Time to move on!" I take those words in with great excitement, energy and motivation and I set out to make it all happen. But, while I'm putting together my must do's, strategies, and deadlines, I'm hearing God say "Slow down. Don't be in such a rush. Be patient. Instead of being a "human doing", I want you to be a "human being" -- being in My presence while I take control of it all."

Seriously, I don’t consider myself someone who grasps for power, but as I get closer to my leaving Tulsa date (around November 8th or 9th), I realize I want power over certain things. I want to control how this transition will go. I want everything all neat and tidy there like it's been here. So I've relentlessly looked for homes online, had my kids running all over to check out properties for me and even driven to Texas (several times) to check out the homes.

Then I read that scripture "Better to be patient than powerful." (Proverbs 16:32). Suddenly what I realize, all this need to make it happen, is different than patience. Because patience is about receiving. It’s about believing that everything will work out. It’s about resting in the shade of God’s love instead of toiling in the sun of striving.

Patience isn’t just about time; it’s also about trust. It’s about saying, “I don’t have to be in control. I don’t have to hold the power because I know the One who does. And He is for me. He is always working on my behalf. And this means I don’t have to strive or reach for control.” The truest work of patience is when I realize that even more than having to be in control is being cared for by SOMEONE who truly loves me.

Then, I let out a sigh of relief as I realize all over again that God is for me and His plans are for my good. He has been so patiently waiting for me to get it. I'm sure it's a really good idea to succomb to His agenda for my life. Instead of asking God to get onboard my train as a passenger, I think I'll move to the caboose and let Him engineer this ride. I expect He'll stop it RIGHT at the place and RIGHT at the time when it's best for Him AND me!

Better to be Patient than Powerful

Patience is what we should pray for, but when we do.....it seems we encounter even more reasons to pray "Lord, give me patience, but PLEASE give it to me NOW!!!"

As I type this post I'm asking God to forgive me for my IMPATIENCE. I loved my neat and tidy world here in Tulsa. Beautiful home. Wonderful friends. Sweet family members. Awesome churches. Needs met. Many connections for faith and outreach. THEN, my home sells and I hear God's voice and feel His nudge...."Time to move on!" I take those words in with great excitement, energy and motivation and I set out to make it all happen. But, while I'm putting together my must do's, strategies, and deadlines, I'm hearing God say "Slow down. Don't be in such a rush. Be patient. Instead of being a "human doing", I want you to be a "human being" -- being in My presence while I take control of it all."

Seriously, I don’t consider myself someone who grasps for power, but as I get closer to my leaving Tulsa date (around November 8th or 9th), I realize I want power over certain things. I want to control how this transition will go. I want everything all neat and tidy there like it's been here. So I've relentlessly looked for homes online, had my kids running over to check out properties for me. A "real deal" shows up and I think "This must be the one!"

Then I read that scripture "Better to be patient than powerful." (Proverbs 16:32). Suddenly what I realize, all this need to make it happen, is different than patience. Because patience is about receiving. It’s about believing that everything will work out. It’s about resting in the shade of God’s love instead of toiling in the sun of striving.

Patience isn’t just about time; it’s also about trust. It’s about saying, “I don’t have to be in control. I don’t have to hold the power because I know the One who does. And He is for me. He is always working on my behalf. And this means I don’t have to strive or reach for control.” The truest work of patience is when I realize that even more than having to be in control is being cared for by SOMEONE who truly loves me.

Then, I let out a sigh of relief as I realize all over again that God is for me and His plans are for my good. He has been so patiently waiting for me to get it. I'm sure it's a really good idea to succomb to His agenda for my life. Instead of asking God to get onboard my train as a passenger, I think I'll move to the caboose and let Him engineer this ride. I expect He'll stop it RIGHT at the place and RIGHT at the time when it's best for Him AND me!

Train Up a Child in the Ways He Should Go

My husband and I grew up as “church” kids. Our parents ensured that we were in church every time the doors opened – Sunday School, Sunday morning and night services, Wednesday night service, Thursday night youth services, and when an evangelist came into town, church was every night of the week. Back in those early years, we learned every Bible story, every hymn and chorus (and the actions), and memorized a lot of scriptures. As children, it was so sweet to know God. Our needs were met, and our wants were provided for, and pressures only came with a big test or exam, or disappointment in a friend.

Even in those early years, we learned what it was to call upon the God of those Bible stories, scriptures and songs to be our "help". And, the older we got, the more we discovered, that all of those years of “child training” established us in life. In fact, we carried those same principles on, and into our children, who are leading their own children by that example.

Now, I realize that our faith was built upon those principles – for example – the same God that kept Daniel in the lion’s den and the three Hebrew boys in the firey furnace, that helped David slay the giant, that opened the Red Sea for Moses, and more than all that, the same God that gave us His only Son who went about doing good, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, died on a rugged cross, was buried and rose from the dead....is the same God who loves us and desires to perform His good works in us today!

That’s what our Moms and Dads really gave us -- they were instilling in us the fiber, the fortitude, the tenacity, the unwavering faith and strength to draw from, and to know that our God loves us unceasingly, and that when the going gets tough and pressures seem insurmountable, we have a confidence in knowing, God is able and willing to meet our every need. We know our hope and trust was, and always will be, in the One whose steadfast love never ceases and His faithfulness will always carry us through. I sure hope these words impress you enough to train your children and grandchildren in the ways they should go. I promise you...it is worth the effort!