Teachings from Quest for God's Own Heart Ministry

Love is Patient: Part Two

 1 Corinthians 13:1

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Last week we talked about having patience for the return of Christ. I would love for it to happen now. No doubt about it. I want Him to come right now.

What an incredible time that will be. We will be with our Savior for eternity, never having to struggle through life any longer. No more worries, no more sorrows, no more goodbyes, no more bills, no more deadlines, only Jesus and the rest of our family in Heaven.

However, God is patiently waiting to send Jesus to take His children home, for He desires that more people come to the Cross of Calvary.

As much as I want today to be the day He calls His children home, I know that until then, I must spread His love to everyone around me, leading the cause of His salvation to the world instead of focusing only on myself.

I must desire for others to come to Jesus more than I desire to be with Him in Heaven right now. That is difficult for me to do. I want to be in Heaven now, but God, Himself is patiently waiting.

While God is waiting, I must be His Light, bringing others to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, desiring that they too will meet Him in the air. What a wonderful day that will be.

Today, we will be talking about patiently waiting as we pray to our Father in Heaven.

Psalm 37:7-9:

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.  Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.”

That’s hard to do, isn’t it? God tells us to wait patiently for Him, but we want everything now. We don’t want to have to wait for anything in our lives. When we ask for something, we expect God to answer immediately, and we get upset or anxious when He doesn’t answer immediately, or the way we want.

In the Presence of our God, wait patiently for His action.

We act as if God is a fast food restaurant where all we have to do is go through the drive-through and make our request. When we get to the window, we expect that our order was done correctly and that there’s no delay.

However, God is not a fast food restaurant. He is the God of the Universe. We are not to see our prayer time as a time to make our orders, make our demands. We are to come to God in prayer to spend time with our Heavenly Father. We are to sit down and commune with Him.

God tells us to wait patiently in His presence. He didn’t say wait patiently, twiddling our thumbs. He said to come to Him, dwelling in His presence. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him.

Praying is supposed to happen all throughout the day. It is not just a dinner time thing or what we do before we go to bed. He wants us to spend time in His presence. He wants to be with us. The Creator of the Universe wants to spend time with us.

When we go before our God, waiting for Him, we show that we trust Him. We know that whatever His answer is, it is for our best. He desires to give us joy. He desires for us to live a life filled with His abundance. He wants the desires of our heart to be the desires of His.

Isaiah 40:28-31:

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
“Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

God is promising us that if we trust in Him for our lives, He will give us strength to carry on. He does not leave us floundering on our own.

Later in Psalm 37, God made it very clear He is not a God, who sits in a rocking chair in Heaven, not caring about what happens to His children. Verses 23 and 24:

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

I love those two verses. It is comforting to know that our God is not only involved in our lives, but He cares even about the little things in our lives. Every step of our life, God is there, directing us in how to follow Him, in how to live our lives. He is involved. He does care.

Don’t focus on others

That should give us great comfort and encouragement when we are facing struggles in our lives. He never has nor will He ever abandon us. He is with us every step of the way.

I believe that our problem is that we look around and see others who seem to be doing well in their lives, and we become jealous. They seem to have everything. They have a great job. They have a beautiful home. They seem to have the perfect marriage and have wonderful children.

“Why do they have it all?” we cry out. “It’s just not fair. I follow you God. I go to church every week and give my tithes. I pray before every meal and reach out to those who don’t know you. Why don’t I have everything they have? It’s just not fair!”

Anger is produced when we focus on what others have.

From this attitude, anger is produced. Our jealousy produces anger toward the one who seems to have it all, and sometimes even anger toward God, Himself. It’s the Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side, complex.

Our Anger is Only Hurting Ourselves

Proverbs 14:29-30:

“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness. A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”

Let us pursue a life that is pleasing to God. If we have the heart of God, we will be able to control our anger, we will be able to understand how we are to respond to any situation we may face.

We will not live a life of envy or jealousy. We will instead live a life of joy, serving and following the God of all understanding, the God of our salvation.

Jealousy and anger play no role in the life of a follower of Jesus. We are to love as He has loved us. We are to see others as more important than we are. We are to live a life of peace.

When we stop caring about the things that others have, we will begin to see the needs that they have.

Only a follower of Jesus Christ has it all. The problem is; we always desire what we want, instead of what He desires for us.

It’s not about the newest and coolest car.

It’s not about the newest and biggest house.

It’s about a love relationship with our Savior, knowing that He will not only take care of all of our needs, but He will also bring joy, peace, and fulfillment in our lives.

We are to live a life of patience. When we do, we will live a life of peace. Our spiritual life will be better, our relationships with our family and friends will be better, and our health will also be better.

Wait upon the Lord, and He will renew your strength.