The secret in the process

Author:
October 05, 2020

I don’t know about you but sometimes it gets hard to be in the process of something that we already want to be out of.  We feel a desire to be on the other side of our current life. We have a passion and want to see it through. We have dreams and aspirations. It could be a business, a family, a significant other, or ____ (you fill in the blank.) We are designed to dream. We are designed to look forward to something, designed to pursue. All of us are.

I was listening to one of my favorite speakers and pastors, Mike Todd, he says a few things that I absolutely love.  He says, what if God had a promise for us saying, “what if I am going to give it to you, but it takes two years? The only payment you have to make is patience.” What would you do?  

Many of us forfeit the promises of God because we won’t develop the fruit of the spirit; patience.  Why would we wait when in our culture it is a microwave mentality, I can have it and do it now, if you believe it you can achieve it. I am not saying there is anything wrong with going for it. Believe me, I am the first to tell you that!  Yet what if we are robbing ourselves of the real promise and desires we have if we push, rush, and do it our own way?  

The process of waiting is hard. It might feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and sticky.  It might feel like a dry wilderness.  Many times this is why we don’t want to wait. We don’t like these feelings listed.  Yet who you become in the process is what matters. In order to have what it is you really desire, you need to develop the traits of the person you desire to be.  Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.  WOW, because what if it doesn’t go as “planned”, or takes way longer than expected, how we deal with it and who we become in the process is what matters.

I know that my plans have been changed, things have been prolonged and in the last year it’s been a huge test of who I am when I am navigating emotions of sadness, wonder, confusion, loss or restlessness.  I don’t generally like to show those emotions because it makes me feel weak yet I know that in our weakness is where we are made strong.  There have been some things that I knew I could pursue, rush into, and make happen yet at the same time I knew in my deepest heart and soul that I needed to wait and be patient because what plans were to come were greater than I could do on my own.  It could take a while to see what that fruit is, and why wait, yet it's about the everyday faithfulness that matters. I know sometimes it doesn't seem like you're doing much but being faithful to the small acts daily is what activates the muscle of patience so that you can withstand the next unknown, the next hardship, the next path. Have you had to navigate that as well?

Your greatest annoyance will be what God uses to elevate you.  In our culture, patience is not something we strive for, yet what if this was the secret to becoming the best version of yourself? What if this is the way to living out dreams bigger than you could have ever thought or imagined? Would you seek patience?

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