Be Patient
A third BP for you this week is be patient.
Shereen and I live in Gauteng which is really the major metropolis of our country, you could say. Life is busy here. We get up early and hit the ground running, and even if we get out onto the roads early, they’re busy: people are already on their way to work before 6am, and the roads are still rocking until 7ish at night when they start to calm a bit.
You go to a restaurant in Gauteng, and you want your food to come quickly! Because you're in a hurry and you have things to do.
Learning to Slow Down
A few weeks ago we were on holiday in some of the small towns in the Karoo, and of course, life is different there. It took us a while to settle into the slower pace of those towns – where nothing really happens before 9am, and the restaurants aren't in a rush to get you your food, and the drivers aren't in a rush to get where they are going. We were a little surprised to discover just how impatient we were in general.
Then when we got back in Gauteng, we kept thinking "why is everybody so rushed here?" but within days, we were back in that sort of routine.
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves: BP. Be patient. Take your time. Relax.
God's Perfect Timing
A writer named Pauline Ellis Cramer wrote about this very thing in an article a few years ago, let me quote her: "One day I had my list made out. My pencil was ready to mark off my accomplishments. Number one was read Scripture. I perched on the edge of a chair and cranked up my speed-reading skills. Opening my Bible to Psalm 27:14, I read, 'Wait for the Lord...' Wait! I don't have time for that. I flipped over a few pages and came to Psalm 37:7. 'Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...' Not again! But that's Old Testament thought. I'd better read from the New Testament. I turned to the New Testament, and my Bible opened to Romans 8:25. 'But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.' Are You trying to get a point across to me, Lord?
The Lord was saying that not only do I need to wait, but also I need to wait patiently. But I want my prayers answered now. I want my problems solved today. I want complete spiritual growth yesterday! How can I wait patiently in an impatient world?
How can I not wait? Even though God is always there for me to come to, He didn't put me in charge of His time schedule for answering prayers. He waited for me to accept His gift of salvation. He waited patiently for me to study and learn His precepts. He waits for me to get quiet and listen to His guiding Spirit."
She was learning to BP – to be patient. May you and I wait quietly in God's presence and cultivate a less rushed but more patient life with Him.
