'Wait-Lifting' for the New Year

Kathy Carlton Willis, God's Grin Gal, always encourages readers to see life through a biblical perspective and not lose their joy in life. In this New Year's UPGRADE, she addresses the topic of patience—when and how to cultivate it.

“We often comment on how good or bad our waiter is at a restaurant, but I’m not earning any good waiter awards these days when it comes to waiting on life stuff,” Kathy says.

Waiting is hard for me (Dawn) too. Patience is definitely a character trait I need to cultivate! Kathy has wise, helpful counsel for all of us.

Kathy continues . . .

Probably the hardest thing for me, and most of you, is the trial of hurry up and wait. Left unchecked, it tests my patience, challenges my contentment, and sours my joy.

If you are in a season not of your own choosing, you might find yourself wishing for something different or more.

Answers or solutions.

In this era of supply chain shortages, there are much more serious shortages going on.

When it comes to waiting, a lack of patience will practically do us in.

Sometimes, we need the delay for God to prepare us for the answer He is customizing for His purpose to come true in our lives.

Our job when we sense silence on the other end of our prayers is simple.

Wait.

And in the wait, we trust.

And in the trust, we grow patience.

And when patience has grown up, it becomes endurance.

Then we’re ready to run the faith marathon designed with us in mind.

Isn’t it curious that the very thing that causes us to feel impatient is an example of God’s patience? We think He’s being quiet, or even absent from our lives because of our situation. The opposite is true—He is forever present with us.

Having God with us is more important than having—well, anything!

When we have that, the weight of the wait is lifted. (The best kind of “wait-lifting.”)

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2–4 NLT)

Patience is only developed during the wait, never in the rush.

What happens when we wait impatiently? Whether we wait with patience or impatience, it takes just as long, but when we’re impatient, we’re miserable.

Let’s trade our impatience for a new coping skill to help reframe our outlook.

How to Develop Your Patience Muscle

Patience is never more needed and never less present than when we are dealing with a time-out or pause. It’s always best to develop patience ahead of time so that muscle memory shows up when you need it.

Here are some tips.

1. Galatians 5 lists patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

That means it’s up to the Holy Spirit to act in patience through us, and it’s up to us to be yielded to the Spirit.

What does it mean to be yielded or surrendered to the Spirit? It involves us being willing to follow His lead instead of the selfish desires that contradict Scripture.

2. Don’t expect your circumstances to change.

Patience is pumped up just like working a muscle during weightlifting—when it is tested.

3. Know that all human beings struggle with impatience, and only a few learn to be patient during difficult times.

It’s easier to get frustrated than to have faith, and our go-to tends to be in crisis mode rather than choosing to be in Christ.

4. Patience needs to be stored up ahead of time for when you need it, and it gets depleted easily.

Being in God’s Word and talking with Him in the good times banks spiritual fruit for you to have available during the bad times.

5. If you find yourself lacking patience, look through God’s eyes of grace toward the situation or person frustrating you.

This will allow you to put up with much more.

6. Sometimes the person you need to have patience toward is yourself.

Reduce your unrealistic expectations. Allow more do-overs. Confess your flaws to God and ask Him to transform your life.

7. When you realize that your purpose in life is so much bigger than this current circumstance, your ability to be more patient will flourish.

Strive to look at the big picture—the kingdom picture.

8. Patience helps you trust God more.

Trusting God helps you build more patience. They go together. When you have something to hang your hope on, you can wait with patience for all the details to be worked out according to God’s purpose.

9. If you are a Christ follower, you are a temple of God, and conduit for the Spirit to flow through you.

Patience moves unhindered through open conduit but is restricted when that conduit is plugged with pride and self.

10. When you choose to be impatient, you willfully refuse God’s equipment to help you cope with your current situation.

Patience is an act of obedience—evidence of a yielded, Spirit-filled life.

11. Practicing patience is not the same thing as stagnating.

It doesn’t mean you are complacent or compromising. It means you are content in the wait but eager with hope for the next God-thing. It’s not passive.

Patience is active—acting on God’s Word to stand your ground until He moves you on.

12. Patience gives you time to grow a more intimate relationship with the Father.

What New Year’s goal will you set to strengthen your patience muscle?

Kathy Carlton Willis is God’s Grin Gal. She writes and speaks with a balance of funny and faith—whimsy and wisdom. Over a thousand of Kathy’s articles have been published and she has several books in her Grin Gal brand. Today’s Upgrade with Dawn is inspired by Kathy’s latest book, Your Life on Hold: Don’t Hate the Wait. Consider joining one of Kathy’s groups for 2023. More information at www.kathycarltonwillis.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels.

We Make Our Plans, but ...

In this Trials UPGRADE, Dawn writes about the coronavirus and how Christians might want to respond with biblical thinking.

A week ago, my husband's ministry trip to Ecuador was canceled. My brother-in-law's ministry trip was canceled (as well as his and his wife's vacation).

So many ministry friends are rescheduling and hoping new dates will work after the rampant COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2, turned into a pandemic.

Life with our new normal—at least for months to come—means holding on to our plans with a loose hand.

I'm reminded of the wise words in Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)—"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." I've always taken that as the Lord desires to create a plan for us to move forward.

God is sovereign and He "determines" our steps. But we still need to listen to His voice and obey when He speaks.

Back in January, knowing I would likely be recovered from a recent stem cell transplant by now, I made a lot of plans for March and April. The Lord had other plans for me.

We make our plans, but when they change, we need to be sensitive to what the Lord might be saying to us about how to deal with those changes!

In this current pandemic, the COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Lord is speaking to me about eight "be" concepts in the book of Ephesians—there are likely more—that can help me each day during the required shelter-in-place mandate.

Perhaps they will help you focus too.

"Be" ... in Ephesians

1. Be Still

Althought the word "be" isn't in Ephesians 1:17-21, it is a prayer Paul prayed for Christ-followers to help them become better acquainted with God (v. 17b).

In essence, Paul encouraged believers to do what the psalmist said in Psalm 46:10:

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Paul said he wanted believers to have wisdom from God, with the "eyes" of their hearts enlightened. And why? So they might "know the hope" to which He has called us. We have hope IN the Lord, and we can receive hope FROM the Lord.

Our hope is based in God's "power for us."

The risen Christ reigns, and it is His power that energizes us to face our struggles today—even a pandemic.

We need to be still and contemplate who God is, and the power we have in the mighty "exalted" One!

2. Be Wise

Ephesians 5:15-16 says we should "be very careful" how we live. We need to live with God's wise truths in mind. Why? "Because the days are evil."

We need to make wise choices in these days, and make the most of every opportunity we have to live for the Lord and proclaim who He is.

Verses 18-20 compare foolish living with wise living. Rather than indulging in things that will dull our senses, we need to be fully engaged by making the wise choice to "be filled" with the Spirit—another powerful "be" concept.

When we filled with the Spirit and making wise choices, we will speak and sing things that glorify our Father God, and we will be grateful.

3. Be Patient

Ephesians 4:2 reminds us to "be completely humble and gentle; be patient...."

Although I focused here on patience, don't miss the link to humility and gentleness!

• It takes humility to be patient in long lines at stores or airports.
• It takes humility and a patient, gentle spirit to be bear up with kids who are getting on our "last nerve" during pandemic.
• It takes patience when members of our family are going stir crazy—not knowing how to deal with sudden boredom, or reacting with anger born out of frustration.
• It takes patience when quarantined.

I'm sure you can think of other examples where patient humility and gentleness must be the rule of the day.

4. Be Compassionate

It's important to remember we are not alone in this coronavirus struggle.

This is not a time for "it's all about me."

Spiritual maturity will help us live out Ephesians 4:32a: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other...."

In times of crisis, we may feel like we're one minute away from a meltdown.

It's easy to become self-focused. It's easy to over-react when we feel slighted or hurt by others.

This is the time to forgive with Christ-like forgiveness—("...just as in Christ God forgave you" (4:32b).

This is the time to be kind and compassionate. This is the time to give people the benefit of the doubt and be understanding—and when necessary, to show mercy!

Others are going through tough times too, and they may not know how to cope.

5. Be Loving

We are to follow God's example as His beloved children (Ephesians 5:1). We need to be "rooted and established in (His) love"—the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Loving like Christ is not an option for the believer. It's part of our godly stewardship.

Joe Carter, editor of TGC Weekly (The Gospel Coalition) wrote, "While Christians rightly poiint out that God is sovereign over all things—including the economy—we whould also recognize that we have a role to play as stewards of God's creation. ... Ultimately, stewardship is all about love."

Years ago, it seemed everyone was asking, "What Would Jesus Do?" In the stewardship of love, we seek to see people and their needs through the eyes of the Lord.

And as much as possible, and as the Lord leads, we move in love to meet needs.

It may mean something like:

• buying a package of baby wipes for a mom with little ones,
• taking a meal to a shut-in (and lingering for a conversation if he or she seems lonely), or
• filling a tank with gasoline for a doctor or nurse who still reports for duty to help those with COVID-19.

What would Jesus Do?

6. Be Light

In times of crisis, this is often the opportune time to "be light" in the darkness.

In Ephesians 5:8-10, Paul reminded the Ephesian believers they were once in spiritual darkness, "but now," he said, "you are light in the Lord."

We need to recognize we are all lost and in spiritual darkness without the Lord and His mercy. We need to remember the grace of the Lord Jesus to us from the cross.

When we remember well, we will likely want to "live as children of light." We will to make a difference in people's lives around us, and we'll want our attitudes and actions to please Him. We'll want to "shine as lights in the world" and allow our good works to glorify the Father (Philippians 2:15; Matthew 5:16).

Paul made a special request of the Ephesian believers. He wanted them to pray he would be fearless in sharing the Gospel (6:19-20).

And that should be the prayer we pray for ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ as we shine together for the Lord.

7. Be Strong

In these stressful times, it is important that we "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10-12). Our own strength may wane as we struggle with all the changes we need to make in fighting this pandemic.

We're supposed to wear the "armor of God" every day, but it's important to be SURE we're wearing it now (Ephesians 6:13-17) so we can "be strong and courageous" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

And when the battle gets especially tough, we need to remember to run to our refuge in God—He is our "strong tower" of safely (Psalm 46:1-3; Proverbs 18:10). 

8. Be Alert

Ephesians 6:18 says, "be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

Although we need to be loving and compassionate to all people, this is a special admonition to be alert to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We may not have the needed resource to help them in practical ways, but we always have the resource of prayer to petition God for their needs.

As we live as children of light, we also need to be alert to our adversary's strategies to attack God's flock (1 Peter 5:8).

Believers can have tough physical needs during times of trial—but sometimes the attacks of Satan in their minds and hearts are just as tough and destructive.

Be alert to ways you can encourage individual members of the family of God who are struggling with Satan's lies.

Be aware of fresh action steps that can lead to your growth, others' good, and God's glory.

Which of these "Be" concepts are you practicing now? Is there another "Be" you might consider?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, at Revive Our Hearts, a blogger at TrueWoman.com, writes wiki-type posts at  Christianity.com, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, initial graphic courtesty of congerdesign at Pixabay.