Be Still and Wait: Patience

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him" - Psalm 37:7a NIV

Most dogs jump, run around in circles, and can scarcely contain themselves when it comes to waiting as their owner attaches the leash and opens the door to go outside.  Yet Quigley, my year-old Shih Lhasa, waits calmly, looking up at me with those large light-brown eyes while I fumble to attach his leash.  His patience with me, as well as his ability to 'be still', astounds me each time I prepare to take him outside.

His breed was typically the choice of royalty, pretty much content to lie around the house and sleep.  He was placed in the right family, for sure.  Not that we are royalty, but most of us are pretty passive and laid back. Patience, though, is not something that comes naturally for any of us.

Can you see yourself waiting in line at the fast food restaurant arguing that this place has lost its rating as 'fast food'?  Are you waiting for the mail that contains that package of whatever you swore you had to have or a refund check because you overpaid the doctor?  Are you punching numbers on your phone just to get to the 'right person', only to find that you are transferred somewhere else? Are you blowing your horn at the car ahead of you because the light is green and the folks haven't put the pedal to the metal fast enough?  Are you waiting patiently?  I'd shout a loud, "No Way!"  We experience impatience every day in this fast paced world. 

We're impatient creatures when it comes to our physical world , yet I find that most of our impatience comes when waiting on the Lord.  We pray and pray, yet God has not answered us quickly enough.  We want an answer right now!  When are we going to learn that as Christians we should know God is in control and He acts in His own time and own way?  He provides our needs.

God's timing is perfect.  Personally, I worry, I wait impatiently for God to answer, then I determine to hand it over to God and let Him work.  Know what?  I take it right back, thinking that I can do a better job.  I have to remind myself several times a day that God wants what is best for me, that the only person I can attempt to control is me, and that He will work at His pace, not mine.  His answers are not always what I had in mind, but had I gotten what I wanted or had things work out like I thought they should, I would have had a tremendous mess on my hands!

Only when we are still and waiting patiently for God to work will we learn what God is teaching us. Thank God that He is in control because it is the only way we can be sure that the situation will work out for our good. Our world needs patience, our world needs to know that God is in control, our world needs God.

I'm trying to wait patiently on this slow computer, but I confess it is one of my pet peeves.  Quigley has just flopped down in the floor to rest.  He has no concerns because he knows someone is taking care of him.  He can be still and wait patiently because he knows his needs will be met.  God is constantly working to meet the needs we have.

Lord, help me wait patiently.  Help me be still and know that God is supreme and is to be exalted above the earth.  I know that God is taking care of me and that waiting patiently to hear His voice is the only way my life on earth is worth living.  Help me learn what You are teaching me as I wait patiently, and be still and know that You are God.           

 Debbie