Does being patient in the face of chaos seem an impossible task? We are all called to run our own race and, above all, run it according to God’s plan. If patience is difficult right now, maybe we need to look more closely at the path through the chaos…
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” (Psalm 37:7)
I sometimes feel like being patient is like being asked to stand still in the middle of a wind tunnel. Pushed from different sides, nudged this way and that. Being influenced to just move already.
If patience isn’t your strong suit, as it isn’t mine, then you probably feel these nudges more than others. The thought of sitting back and waiting while everyone else moves forward can cause a lot of stress.
I see other parents sending their kids to school and I wonder if I am doing the right thing by homeschooling mine. I see friends working at jobs that make more money and I think about if freelancing is the way to go.
Even though I know that my path is my own, set before me by a God who knows best, I still look at others’ paths with envy and worry.
If I’m not seeing immediate rewards in my own work, shouldn’t I be moving on to other things?
But patience means standing still. Waiting. If you ask God a question, doesn’t it make sense to wait for the answer?
Holding on to patience in the chaos
The world, especially in the face of a pandemic, can become even more chaotic that usual. Fear pushes even the most patient people to move and do even when that’s not the wisest course of action.
When the world was buying every Clorox wipe, bottle of water, and package of toilet paper it could get it’s hands on, we all had to make a choice between hoarding for ourselves or leaving supplies for our neighbors.
We had to hold on to patience as we waited for store shelves to be restocked, as we waited for our turn to enter a grocery store. Patience that God would provide even as jobs were lost and schools closed.
How do we stay patient in the face of so much uncertainty and chaos?
The only way is through trust. Trust that God is good and will walk beside us through the chaos, through the wind tunnel.
And God will stand beside us when we need to be still and wait. His timing is not accidental. It’s never too early or too late. His timing is always perfect, and worth waiting for.
When I doubt my path of staying in my place and homeschooling and freelancing, when I look longingly at kids on school buses and women in business suits, I remember that my place is right here. Patiently waiting for God’s next step for me.
When I wonder about our health, our finances, and our community, I trust in God’s timing and provision. And I stay still and wait for his direction.
This isn’t easy, especially when impatience and fear shove us toward action, change – anything to to keep us moving. But moving isn’t always right. So, instead of trying to catch up with everyone else doing their own thing, why not stick to the race we’ve been asked to run by our God?
Not because everyone else is involved in a “wicked scheme,” but because any other path than our own is not the one for us. Trust in God to light the path you are supposed to be on and patience becomes easier to hold on to in the storm.
Have a blessed Monday!
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