Daily Read August 5, 2009

¹⁴ "Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14 NIV

Patience is so hard.

It is especially hard in a culture that honors and in many cases worships speed. We live in an age of high speed internet (cause really, who still has dial up... and your internet is all about how fast it is... DSL vs. Cable vs...). We live in an age of instant messages through facebook... text messages (that just beeped in my pocket)... drive thrus... fast cars... morning commutes... TiVo and On Demand movies available any time you like at the click of your remote. And the list could continue...

We aren't very good at patience.
I'm not very good at patience.

I get frustrated when I feel like the light is too long... or the person in front of me is driving too slow... or I have to use the "edge network" on my iPhone instead of "3G" (seriously, I do... check my twitter feed)... I'm not very good at patience.

But this morning, Psalm 27 reminded me to wait for the Lord. To be patient.

Paul reminds us that patience is a mark of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives: "²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25, NIV

Patience is something that I need to work on... today...

Jim