“Sit down, be quiet, be patient.”  My dear, sweet mother said this practically every day. I got the “sit down” command down pat. As far as “be quiet,” … well, not so much. And sadly, now 60+ years later, I have to admit I never mastered being patient.

My lack of patience dug me a deep hole last week — literally. The winds in East Texas blew my door wreaths off the hangers. I found one wreath but couldn’t find the other one. My husband — the dear, sweet man that he is — said he would go out and look for it. That was at 4:35 p.m.  At 5:00 p.m. I drove out on the grounds to see if I could find it. No, I didn’t find the wreath, but a found all the mud in the world on our twelve acres, and I got stuck – real deep in muck. It took a tractor and a pickup to pull me out. Bless my little impatient heart!

I’ve heard “patience is a virtue” my entire life. The meaning is simple: “The ability to wait for something without getting angry or upset and is a valuable quality in a person.”

All the conditions of life today seem to combine to make people restless and unstable. Most people are eager for novelty and change, constantly switching from one activity to another, neglecting, and sometimes abandoning, those attributes which are good for their souls. We live in the midst of a restless, impatient, and fevered life – a life that more than ever demands patience, discipline, and stability of mind.

How do we respond to the annoyances of everyday life—while waiting at the green light when the car in front of us doesn’t move? How do we respond to our family and friends who are idle or weak? The people around us may not be impressed by our theology, but they definitely notice how we handle human interaction either with patience or impatience.

No doubt you will have opportunities today and every day to show divine patience when you are tempted to display human impatience. In those moments, recognize the immensity of God’s patience with you, and you will surely grow in your patience for others. Patience is vital to every decision we make and is especially vital to the walk of a believer. 

By remaining patient no matter how we feel in our soul and no matter what our emotions and thoughts may be trying to dictate, we keep our faith ignited and actively at work.

My favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

I’ll be patiently waiting to hear from you!

Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries. Learn more about the ministry by liking our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CJEMinistries) and downloading our FREE mobile app (get.theapp.co) from App Store or Google Play. Once downloaded, allow notifications to keep you up to date on what’s happening in Cary John Efurd Ministries. Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com

Tagged: God, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ