Waiting patiently...

I finally arrived home late last night after being delayed by lightning storms for two hours in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. It gave me a chance to observe how people waited. Some waited productively and patiently, and others ranted and stomped off to check other airlines’ available flights (thus missing boarding when there was finally a break in the lightning.) In the interest of posting my blog on time today, I am including (below) a short devotion from Girlz Rock (Zondervan 2005) about the importance of patience if you hope to obtain God’s promises…

“Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” ~~Hebrews 6:12 (NIV)

The Bible is full of promises for the believer: promises for peace, success, joy, love, friendship, rewarding work, and much more. It takes two things for these promises to come true. The first ingredient is faith: believing God’s Word is true. The second necessary ingredi­ent is patience: keeping a positive attitude while you wait. Many believers have faith; few have patience. You need both. “After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise” (Hebrews 6:15 NKJV emphasis added).

Jillian’s best friend was moving away. They’d been best friends and next-door neighbors for five years, and Jillian was brokenhearted at the news. She claimed Psalm 147:3: “[God] heals the heartbroken and ban­dages their wounds” (MSG). She truly believed God would do that for her, but when a week went by and she still felt sad, she decided the promise didn’t work. Jillian was wrong. The promise is sure, and God’s Word can be counted on. Jillian had faith—but she was missing the ingredient of patience.

Patience is the ability to stay steady during the challenging storms of life. You usually have to wait a length of time before you receive your promise. It’s like planting a seed (your faith), then waiting for the harvest to appear. The waiting time is the testing time. Will we continue to believe God for the promise when things get tough? Will we trust that God is bringing his promises to pass even before we see the results? “Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23 NLT).

Are you waiting for a promise of God in your life? Then practice both faith and patience. It’s a winning combination.