I remember when I was 14, someone told me that I should ask God for all of the fruits of the spirit, except for patience. The logic behind it was, that if we ask for patience, God will put us in situations where our patience will be stretched.
We live in an incredibly fast-paced world, a world where we can have almost anything we would like within the reach of our phones.
From fast food to internet shopping, there aren't many things that we have to wait long for in our day to day lives.
And in many ways, we’re taught that this is a good thing. That we should be able to have the things that we want, when we want them.
But the Bible takes a bit of a different approach to life, especially in the area of patience.
Just because it’s his plan, doesn’t mean that it’s his timing.
The Bible talks a lot about patience.
It talks about how the Lord is patient with us, and how he calls us to be patient with each other. It also talks about having patience in the middle of trials and about patiently waiting for God’s timing.
That’s an area that I've been really challenged by in my own life.
In the last two year I’ve received a lot of prophecies from the Lord about the plans that he has for me, plans to send me to the mission field, plans for ministry, and plans for many other things.
When God first told me about them, I was really excited. But over time, I had started to become discouraged when everything didn’t happen as soon as I thought it would.
Something I’ve learnt since then though, is that just because something’s God’s plan, doesn’t mean that it’s his timing.
And if it’s outside of Gods timing, then it’s also outside of his plan.
He has you in this season, for a reason
Jerimiah chapter 29, verse 11 say's "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future"
How beautiful is that!
That the God of the universe has a plan for our lives. He already knows what he is going to do and where he is going to take us.
But even though he has beautiful plans for our future, we still are still called to lay them at his feet, and journey through the things he has called us to do right now.
Something I really believe is that God has a purpose for this season, as well as the next.
Maybe he needs to something specific in our hearts before the next season, or maybe he wants to use us to make an impact on someone else’s life, or maybe it’s for something else entirely.
Whatever the reason is, we can journey through this season with so much joy, knowing that he has it covered, and when his timing is right, he will call us to move forward.
Rejoice in this season
Pslams chapter 37, verse 7 says "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."
Good things are coming.
And he has a plan for your life.
But there’s so much joy that comes from being present and content with what he has given us right here, right now. We get to rejoice in this season, knowing full well that the Lord is doing things in our hearts, and knowing that he is preparing us for what is to come.