Got Patience?

I have been praying this week for God to search me and remove anything in me that is preventing me from getting closer to him. If there is something hindering me, bring it to light and help me work through it to get it out of my way. My goal this year is to get as close to God as I possibly can and in doing this I know there are going to be things that he is going to reveal to me that I am going to have remove from my life. You may ask can’t God just remove those things for you and the answer is yes, he can, but I believe he wants us to be willing to give those things up and make the sacrifice for his name sake to do so.
This morning during my prayer time the word patience dropped in my spirit. I continued to pray for a minute or so, but this word kept coming to mind to the point I couldn’t continue with my prayer. I finally said, “okay Lord show me.” Immediately I began to have feelings of irritation and aggravation come over me and I could even feel the frown lines in my forehead deepen. I recognized these feelings and realized I feel this way often when I am waiting on someone or something to be done. I already knew patience was not a strong point for me, but I had not realized it was holding me back in my spiritual growth until this moment.
The definition of patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Patience is also the level of endurance one can have before negativity.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22, some Bible versions may have longsuffering or forbearance listed, along with love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (NKJV). Reading these I realized that my impatience holds me back in all the fruits of the Spirit listed. Galatians 5:25 says If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. It was then that I realized why he had put this word in my spirit this morning. To walk in the Spirit as I should I have to be strong in all the fruits of the Spirit. You can’t be strong in one unless you are strong in all because they are all tied together. I asked God to forgive me for my impatience in my life and for letting it hinder my growth in him. I have asked him for guidance and strength to improve in this area.
When we ask God to show us things in our life that we need to work on, he will. These things may not be fun to deal with or even things we want to admit we do, but they are necessary if you want to move forward in God. Stumbling blocks that obstruct our path are often placed there by us and our actions. These can hinder our growth and stop us dead in our tracks, if we are not willing to break through them. I am not willing to let anything hold me back, so I pray for the strength and the courage to face whatever stumbling block that is obscuring my path or my growth in God. I pray the same for each of you this year.
Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day in Jesus Christ!!
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