Posted by admin in Christian Living, Devotionals | 1 Comment
Patience = Living with “X”
By JL Ryan
December 28, 2008
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6
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I don’t know about you, but I like to understand everything. When I don’t understand what’s going on in my life, or can’t answer certain questions about my future, I get anxious. I’m a CEO, a business woman–a human being in the Twenty-First Century! I want to know my options A, B, C or D so I can make quick decision. Give me the problem, I’ll figure out what the “X” is and solve it. Chop, chop. That’s my personality.
Unfortunately life’s tests don’t play by the rules. Real scenerios don’t have the same solutions as multiple-choice tests. Sometimes when there is no answer, or the variables to the equation are out of our control. Here the answer to the test question is not can you solve the problem, but can you live without solving it. Ouch! Not solve the problem? That’s so contrary to my human fabric.
Not solving a problem is like not scratching an itch, dragging your feet when you walk or not shaving your armpits (ladies). For me, leaving a problem just flapping in the wind is unnerving. I want to SQUASH it, learn from it and move on.
Impatience is: “I want an answer and I want an answer now, even if it’s the wrong answer–just give me an answer so I can feel better.” It’s finding peace in knowing what’s next instead of trusting God with our every waking breath. My need to quickly resolve my problems is to blame for many of the mistakes I’ve made. Impatience causes us to fall off the path that God has set for us.
Rash decisions made at the height of impatience can include anything. Some of us would say, “they didn’t choose me because I’m not good enough.” Others would say, “Well, it’s not here, I guess it will never get here.” Or, “my son will never get off drugs so I might as well just give up on him.” There are any number of rash decisions we can make to hurry up and solve life’s problems with an answer, even if it’s the wrong answer.
Patience, in my mind is being able to live in a state of perpetual “non-understanding” when it comes to some things that are beyond my control. It’s having the discipline to endure the nagging heart wanting immediate answers. Patience is letting go of that which you cannot control while leaning on the only one really in control. It’s about remaining hopeful instead of negative in the face of mystery. It’s about knowing that your Father in heaven loves you and is “working all things out for your good” (Romans 8:28).
Patience requires you to first have faith in God.
Problems are rampant in life, but we’ve got to learn to stop trying to fix those problems out of our control. We’ve got to come to the place where we surrender our worries, questions, needs and desires to God. We have to turn to Him for direction instead of looking to our own abilities to fix and solve every equation we face. This is where God wants us to be, looking to Him for everything. Only when we relenquish our need to solve everything on our own will we be ready for the answers that God has for us.
Here’s a song by Brooke Frasier, “Arithmetic” that suits the occasion. God bless!
Please comment! I love comments! I’m so glad you’re here! 
You just illustrated the very thing I’ve been focusing on for about 3 years now: (and still at times find myself not accepting/opening up to) – To let go and trust in God! I have a sweatshirt that I bought at a Christian Retreat that Reads on the front “Freedom requires Surrender”. When I saw that phrase it just about knocked me over. It is such a daily battle for me, however I am getting better at it all the time. Thanks for sharing apart of your struggle in faith. It always makes me feel better to hear others share about the same struggles that I often have myself.