Patience

By: Grace Metzger 

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord. Plans to prosper
ou and not to harm you; plans for hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

I am not a patient person in the slightest. Although I always knew this about myself, I was not aware of how bad it has became until I was a two weeks in a three month recovery trying to argue that it was taking too long. Apparently hip surgery is not a easy process and I was struggling with having to wait so long to recover. My impatience was a very annoying thing to those around me. I saw myself whining and complaining constantly about not being able to do anything. I hated that I did this for several reasons; one being that it was just annoying to everyone around me, but the second reason is I felt myself growing more and more upset that my body wasn't working on my timeline. 

Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for Him to act.

Psalm 37:7

I knew that I needed to work on my patience before I became someone who was unbearable to be around, so I dove into my Bible and looked up verses about patience. I found Psalm 37:7, a lovely verse that stuck in my mind. Was I waiting for God to act or was I too busy trying to rush Him? Did I actually pray to about my recovery or was I too busy complaining? 

If you have been around fellow believers for a bit you might have heard someone say, "Don't pray for patience." The thought process behind this is that if you pray for patience then God is going to give you opportunities to be patience; an example being, you prayed then you got stuck in traffic for hours on end. I have heard this saying a lot as a kid and I was always so confused. Don't get me wrong, I understand why people joke about it, but patience is a Fruit of the Spirit. It never made sense to me to discourage people from gaining more Fruit of the Spirit.

But that is human nature, we don't want to wait. We have overnight shipping, we can get a cheeseburger in less then two minutes, we hate ads because they make us wait a bit for our show. The world isn't teaching us how to wait anymore. I realized how bad it gotten when I was explaining to kids what an ad is, they couldn't understand why their show wasn't playing the second they wanted it.

So if patience is a hard thing that is discouraged by both Christians and the world, then why even try to be patient at all? What's the point of putting yourself through it?

There can be several answers to that question but my first thought was the story of Abraham and Isaac. If you are unfamiliar with the story then I encourage you to read it, but it is a great story that shows why we need to work towards a patient heart. Abraham was old and never had a child when God spoke to him, God promised that Abraham's offspring will be as plentiful as the number of stars in the sky. If I was Abraham then I probably would have assumed that means God would give me a child right then and there but he actually had to wait a bit after the promise. While that might have made me assume that I misunderstood God's promise, Abraham continued on believing in God and being patient in his waiting. And God reward him with a son named Isaac, who's descendant would later on be Jesus!

Imagine if we were just patient and waited for God's timing, how joyful it would be to live in His timeline rather than ours.  

So how do we become patient believers? By prayer and practice! I challenge you this week to notice when your patience is running thin to reach out to God, pray to Him to continue to supply you with enough patience and kindness to see through anything. 

Reflection:
1. Is patience something you struggle with?
2. What verses do you lean on when you are working on patience?

The Armor of God Part 4: The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

 By: Rebekah Hargraves 

Photo Courtesy of: Kajal Nemani

"Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace." 

~Ephesians 6:14

Today in our series on the armor of God, we come to the piece of the armor commonly referred to  the "shoes of the gospel of peace". 

Of this piece of the armor Matthew Henry writes, 

"Shoes, or greaves of brass, or the like, were formerly part of the military armour (1 Sam 17 6): the use of them was to defend the feet against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks, which were wont to be laid privily in the way, to obstruct the marching of the enemy, those who fell upon them being unfit to march. The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the difficulties and dangers that may be in it. 

It is styled the gospel of peace because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with one another. It may also be meant of that which prepares for the entertainment of the gospel, namely, repentance. With this our feet must be shod: for by living a life of repentance we are armed against temptations to sin, and the designs of our great enemy. Dr. Whitby thinks this may be the sense of the words: 'That you may be ready for the combat, be shod with the gospel of peace, endeavour after that peaceable and quiet mind which the gospel calls for. Be not easily provoked, nor prone to quarrel: but show all gentleness and all long-suffering to all men, and this will certainly preserve you from many great temptations and persecutions, as did those shoes of brass the soldiers from those galltraps.'"

I found his explanation most helpful, as this passage can be one that is perhaps otherwise a bit challenging to understand. Being armed with the gospel of peace brings to mind a passage from the book of James, also which I believe we will find helpful here to further aid in our understanding:

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense." ~James 3:17

Likewise, Paul writes,

"If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." ~Romans 12:18

If we want to fight back against the spiritual warfare of the enemy by building the kingdom of God, we will have to arm ourselves not only with "a" gospel but with "the" gospel, which is a gospel of peace. We do the kingdom of God and our Great Commission work a grave disservice when our gospel presentations, our truth-sharing missions, are not peaceful and gentle.  

May we be known for our peacefulness going forward.

Reflection Questions:

1) Did you know prior to this study what was meant by the gospel of peace?

2) How does this passage challenge you?

3) How is the Lord leading you to change how you live in light of this passage?

Let the Redeemed Say So!

 By: Joanne Viola

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, I have been thinking about the Lord’s faithfulness. It is astounding to look back over the years and see His hand guiding, promises fulfilled, and moments where His grace and mercy were poured out in abundance.

 

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary and gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.”
(Psalm 107:2-3, NASB)

 

Are we saying so?  That is the question that has been on my mind.

 

We, the redeemed, have been set free from sin, hurtful memories, unforgiveness, resentments, anger, insecurities and jealousies. In His love, grace, and mercy, He seeks to keep us liberated and living our days in His freedom. He frees us to be people whose lives are a display of His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22) as we keep step with Him each day.

 

Our God redeems each of us with exactly the same price, the shed blood of His Son. There is no difference in value placed on any of our lives. God redeems us from very different places and circumstances.

 

We are all equal at the foot of the Cross. Each life tells it own unique story of redemption And in the telling, we tell His Story – The Story of Redemption.

 

As we look back over our lives and see evidence of God’s faithfulness,
we see His goodness to us in each day.
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”

 

 

Reflection: 
What are you thankful for today? Take time to look back over the history of your life. Take note of God’s faithfulness, mercy, grace, and love towards you. 

 

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay 

 

 

Forgiveness Is Not...Once and Done

  By: Lauren Thomas

“as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:12 ESV

To forgive and forget is the prerogative of an infinite God. But we, as finite humans, lack such capacity. We fail to forget, though we may succeed in forgiving. This is why Peter sought to ascertain the limit to necessary forgiveness in Matthew 18:21. When Peter asked this question, Jesus’ response highlighted that though we may be limited in capacity, God requires that our forgiveness be limitless.

 

Because we cannot forget, we must again forgive.

 

If we view forgiveness as a single event, we may struggle to achieve it. We may put off attempting it. We may ignore or deny the needfulness of it. We may feel discouraged when we once again feel pangs of bitterness. After thinking we had successfully done with it, we feel disappointment when reminders renew our pain. Seeing forgiveness as a single event can sabotage the process.

 

Because we cannot forget, we must again forgive.

 

The deeper the hurt, the more frequently we may need to engage in the process of forgiveness. The older the wounds, the more frequently we may need to forgive. The hurts received from those who were meant to love and protect us, those we must forgive more frequently.

 

Because we are unable to cast the wrongs committed against us as far as the Lord can, they tend to creep back toward us from time to time. By viewing forgiveness, not as an event, but as a daily cross to pick up, we can find freedom from bitterness and unforgiveness.

 

Because we cannot forget, we must again forgive.

 

Unlimited forgiveness is the prerogative of the Christian. Let me remind you, Christian, in Jesus, you have eternal life. By God extending his infinite forgiveness toward you, you have received infinite ability to forgive others just as He forgave you.

 

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

 

Reflection:

Because you have received forgiveness, how can you extend that forgiveness to someone in your life? What do you usually do when you forgive but are unable to “forget”? Are there any hurts you have not yet forgiven?

 

Next week, check back for ways to engage in the process of forgiveness.

Inward Beauty

By: Grace Metzger

So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created
him, male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27 ESV

Due to recovering from a surgery, recently I have been unable to do much at all, let alone put any effort into my appearance. I don't wear makeup or jewelry anymore. I don't dress up in my favorite clothes. I used to put a tremendous amount of thought into my appearance, spent hours getting ready everyday. I would even change my clothes five times before deciding on an outfit. I'm telling you all this to make sure you understand how different this last month has been for me. I can't do anything that used to make me feel beautiful. It's hard to love how you look when you're not seeing the same thing in the mirror that you normally do. I won't lie, this brought down my mood terribly.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. but
a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30 ESV

I didn't love being a moody person, I didn't want to be like this for the three more months that I was on bed rest. So I went into my Bible app to look up the word beautiful. To be completely honest, I was looking for a verse that would say something like "You're created in God's image so of course you are beautiful." But instead I found Proverbs 31:30. 

To be completely honest, I felt a bit ashamed reading that verse. As someone who tries to put a ton of thought and effort into how to fit into the world's ideas of beauty, it didn't make me feel proud to be read that I was becoming vain. I did a ton of praying and Bible reading that night on what this verse could mean for my life.

I don't believe that makeup, doing your nails, or dressing pretty is a sin in and of itself. I don't think you're being vain if you put on a dress that makes you feel pretty. But this verse is asking me two things: do I idolize my beauty and am I putting as much effort into my relationship with God as I am my looks?

I think those two things can easily mix into one thing in my opinion. Let me explain, when you put hours into getting ready, looking on social media for outfit ideas, spend hundreds of dollar on clothes, are you also doing the same in your relationship with God? Are you praying, spending time in His Word, are you giving Him His tithe? Sometimes we spend so much time on how we look that we start to pull away from what really matters.

Again there is nothing wrong with trying to look nice, but take stock on where and what you're spending your time on. If you're like me it might be a lot of time trying to fit into the world's idea of beautiful. Are you giving God more of your time and thoughts? Has becoming pretty taken more importance in your life then God? Are you actively working towards becoming a woman who fears and loves the Lord? 

It's easy to lie to yourself on those questions. But I challenge you to take time and actually answer those questions honestly. Once you do then it's time to start refocusing your priorities in life. Start trying to find ways to ensure that God is still the most important thing in your life everyday. Once you do you'll notice the question "Am I even beautiful" starts showing up a bit less in your mind, because you are focused on things more important now. Because now you have inward beauty which is much more valuable then outward beauty.