Thursday, December 6, 2012

Let Patience Have Her Perfect Work

Waiting for the Green Light--Google image

 
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

I left my house on time for work praising God for His incredible timing.  I was thanking Him for some answers to prayer wherein I had specifically asked for His perfect timing, and He had clearly come through for me.  I was reminiscing, awed by how faithfully He had answered my prayers. 

As I proceeded on my way, an overloaded dump truck pulled onto the two-lane highway in front of me.  I came up behind it rather quickly due to the fact that it was moving as slow as a turtle.  It barely made a bleep on my mind's radar screen; I was so engrossed praising God.  When it dawned on me that this truck was not going to exceed 45 miles per hour,  I looked for a chance to get around it, pass, and travel on my way, in my own good time.  But alas, that opportunity never came.  I felt tension rising.  (Blame it on original sin and my fallen emotions!)  I became impatient.  The flow of praise stopped, and a monologue aimed at the rear of the truck took its place.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

I followed this lumbering truck for at least eight miles on the two lane highway on which I travel back and forth to school each day.  As I sat behind it at the traffic light at the intersection nearest my destination, I realized the irony of the situation. 

I had been praising God for His incredible timing (which was probably a bit silly since God is always on time), and I allowed my impatience with a slow moving truck to stop the praise.  That praise was wonderful.  I needed it.  God desires my praise.  God deserves my praise. Might He have been giving me a few extra minutes so I could praise Him a little longer on my way to work?  And I had squandered an opportunity to rejoice.

When the light changed, the truck moved on, I turned left and just as quickly the impatience was gone.  I thought of it with regret.  With less than two miles to go, God had my attention. . . again . . . and I realized, I have quite a ways to go.  And it will all be in God's good and perfect time.

Let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.  James 1:4
 
 Climbing the steps
 
 May God's mercy and grace be with you.  Thank you for visiting Write Moments with God, and please come again.  I greatly appreciate all comments, so please feel free to share any thoughts below, or write me at writemoments@gmail.com
 
*****PLUS, It's not too late to leave a comment on the previous blog post about author and speaker, Cindy Sproles.  You will qualify to be included in the BOOK GIVE-AWAY. ******************
 




13 comments:

  1. Nice! Happens a lot to me, too; always when I'm in a hurry. When I'm really bad, it's behind a manure spreader.

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    1. A manure spreader! That should make for an entertaining monologue. Bless your heart. So nice to see you here today. Thank you.

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  2. Ouch! This one hit me between the eyes! And isn't it just humbling to be right in the middle of praising Him for HIS timing to be then thwarted in your own plans by a slow-as-a-turtle truck?! The refining is never complete, is it? :) Thanks for sharing from the real-life walk of being a follower of Jesus.

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    1. Yes, it is humbling. . . I was humbled. It is great to be a real-life follower of Jesus. I don't know how I could live without Him.

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  3. I relate to this one, Rose, sorry to say! It's a great thing God never gives up on us!

    Love
    Jen

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    1. Thank God He never gives up on us. He is so merciful and compassionate. . . even when I feel so ashamed of myself. He puts the joy right back in my heart.

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  4. My O My! this certainly hits home. How quickly we are thrown off track in our attention to the Lord. This was a really good one Rose!

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    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to encourage me. God bless you.

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  5. Hey Rose ...

    I was able to think of this blog when I got behind a line of several slow cars this morning ... when I was already running late to work. Instead of losing my cool, I focused on what you said here. Thank you for helping me to be patient and realize that there must have been a reason I was behind them.

    Love Ya,
    Amy

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  6. Amy, what a nice thing for you to say to me. Thank you for taking your time to write me this. I hope it helped you, and I too will remember it myself because I know I'll find myself in the exact same situation again. I'm glad we have a loving and a forgiving God.

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  7. I liked the message in the message, which I clearly saw in the Google image itself, "Wait for the Green Light!". We have to wait for God's timing, when he gives the green light, then we move or do whatever he has called us to do or that we seek to do.

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  8. You are so right. Thanks for sharing D. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who experiences this, and I can always use a reminder to wait on God's perfect time.

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