Patience In Discomforting Times

Hebrews 10:36 (NLT) says: "Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."

Easy to be patient when all is going well. Then you become ill, experience a job loss or have family difficulties. That's when patience runs thin.

Our prayers often start off bold and confident that God will get us out of the circumstance we find ourselves. Soon enough though our voice seems muted as if God can't hear. Things seem go from bad to worse.

And this is the danger we can run into when we find ourselves impatient with God.

We quote Scriptures, we fast and ask others to pray but there seems to be no movement or evidence that we are being heard or will be helped by God. We can easily accuse or blame Him for coming up short.

Patience in discomforting times is challenging but we must allow God to speak to our hearts. Often in the lowest times, we are more open to hear Him - usually after we exhausted our human efforts. He's been trying to get our attention to something in our hearts that isn't right and sometimes for a very long time.

Recently, my health has decline so I made a Dr.'s appointment. But it followed a moment of frustration. Some days I do well and praise the Lord for the healing only to take a nose dive the next day. I found myself confessing to God frustration and impatience. Everything I've learned about healing and the authority of the believer seemed to do very little or so I thought.

Until the Lord reminded me this is about faith. Faith more precious than gold that is tried by fire (I Peter 1:7). Can I really trust Him with unexplained pain or unanswered questions? When my own prayers seem to mock me? And can I still love Him more deeply than the day before knowing God will never leave me?

Yes, yes and yes.

Friends, many believers all around the world are going through painful times. But there is one truth that helps strengthen our patience in the Lord who is working His life in and through us.

He is good. To fulfil all His promises.

Always.