The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
Lamentations 3:25-26
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
In Monday’s post about C. S. Lewis – Making Reason Reasonable, we referenced the Lenten “fruit of the Spirit” series here at HMPC. We respect Lewis and his phenomenal intellect, but today’s focus is on our calling to bear fruit – the love, joy, peace and more that stand as evidences of God’s grace and hope and goodness.
Sunday morning Rebekah considered patience, and her take was something I had not thought about before (or if I had it did not hit with the same gravitas). She made the point that patience is not something we experience in isolation but something we practice with God. She calls this “another step toward understanding the relational aspect of the fruit of the spirit.”
Patience is something we practice with God
Rebekah Maul
Rather than a constrained forbearance, applying stoic resignation and self restraint, the scriptures teach of, “The God of patience who waits for us to rest in him,” Rebekah said. “That’s your formula: Resting in the Lord, patiently; waiting on the Lord, close to him; waiting with the Lord, side by side…. When we are with the Lord we can wait patiently as long as it takes….”
- Resting in
- Waiting on
- Waiting with
I really appreciate the teaching that God is relational in the process. It is easy to make the mistake of forcing things via the hard slog of making ourselves bear fruit – like we can work hard and sweat it out! But no, this love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is the evidence of our ongoing relationship with God.
God is in this with us. Resting in Jesus. Together. We’ve got this, Lord!
Again, friends, this is another helpful and practical message to receive. Less than 20 minutes, at the 31:15 mark of this video link: HMPC Worship – Patience – March 3, 2024.
We’re here every Sunday morning, 11:00 worship. I hope to see you soon – DEREK
