Our Daily Devotional:

Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s… You will not have to fight this battle… Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you… Do not be afraid… the Lord will be with you. - 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

It is difficult to stand firm and patiently wait when we are facing overwhelming odds. In this passage there were four kingdoms coming against Jerusalem. King Jehoshaphat realized that he was outnumbered and ill equipped to fight these armies. What could he do?

Jehoshaphat prayed and the Lord said, “Stand firm.” That was good news. They were facing immanent destruction and God says, “Just stand there.” But that wasn’t all he said. He also said, “Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.” The key is not to do nothing, but to hear the voice of the Lord and do what he says.

We are programmed to take action when we are facing adversity. It is just natural to resist difficulty and develop a plan. However, our actions are based on a limited knowledge of the situation. That’s why our plans are so inadequate; we can only act on what we know and what we know is limited. In those times God is telling us to wait on him; hear his voice, then act on his instruction.

You can imagine the anxiety among the residents of Jerusalem as they waited for the opposing army to come against them, knowing that their own king was just going to wait on the Lord. It’s like hearing someone outside your house, rattling your door to see if it will open, and someone saying, “Don’t worry. The Lord said to just stand here and see him destroy the enemy.” We might stand there, but we’ll have a baseball bat in our hand.

Trust and patience go hand in hand. As we are on this journey of faith we must learn to trust the Lord to do as he has promised, and we must patiently wait for him speak, then we must patiently wait for him to do what he has promised.

Prayer: It is difficult to wait when danger seems imminent. Grant me the grace to stand firm in the face of the adversary and to tarry in prayer until your answer comes. In Jesus name, amen. 

Principle: God Said, “Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.” The key to victory is not to do nothing, but to hear the voice of the Lord and do what he says.

Affirmation: I am committed to not taking action in situations with major consequences until I have heard God speak and then I will do what he says.

Reflection: Trust and patience go hand in hand. How did trusting God give king Jehoshaphat patience? Have you had occasions in your own life when God seemed to say, "Stand still," but your feet said, "Run for your life"? 

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Be Patient With Everyone

We urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. - 1 Thessalonians 5:14

The paragraph that contains the verse we are using here begins with, “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you” (v12). Then in verse 14 he gives the ways that we are to respect others among us; warning, encouraging, helping and being patient. This is some powerful instruction.

One of the primary factors to being patient with others is respecting who they are. If I see others as being placed on the earth for my convenience and to make life simpler for me, then I am going to run into relationship problems and I will be impatient with them. However, when I see others as an opportunity to bless and serve I am going to suffer long with their shortcomings and work hard to help them become more effective in their life.

Being patient with everyone is not an easy task. It seems that there is always at least one person in my life who tries my patience. In fact, I have found that the more I serve others the more people there are in my life who try my patience. It is those people that this passage is addressing.

Having respect for others has many facets. Paul is addressing some them in this passage. He tells us to warn the idle. Warn them of what? They need to be reminded of the consequences of being irresponsible with their time. That doesn’t mean we are to cut them off until they learn, but it does mean that we are not to enable them to be irresponsible.

There are also those among us who are timid, and some are weak. It can be a bit wearisome trying to help them see their potential and help them see God’s plan for their life, but we are called to be patient with everyone, warning them, encouraging them, helping them.

Prayer: Father, there are times that I find it difficult to be patient with others. Help me to keep in mind that I am called to serve others. In Jesus name, amen.

Be Patient With Everyone

Principle: The ways we are to respect others among us; warning, encouraging, helping and being patient.  

Affirmation: I show my respect for others by warning them when they are in grievous error; encouraging them when they are weak; helping them when they fall and being patient with them in all things.

Reflection:  This devotion speaks of many facets, or many ways of respecting others. Reflect on some of those and look inside yourself to see how your respond to people who try your patience. Give it some thought.


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nce you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. – Revelation 3:10

The book of Revelation is filled with many awful and wonderful things. There is fire and judgment; angels with scrolls and seals and that release plagues upon the earth. Then there is a city called “The New Jerusalem” with streets of gold, a river of life and trees lining the river with healing in their leaves.

In these first chapters of the book the Lord is addressing the different churches in Asia Minor. Many believe that these churches are representative of church ages and others believe that they represent seven different conditions the church may be in at any given time. Whatever is true about those churches there is universal truth that is addressed to each of them.

The church of Philadelphia is being praised in this passage. The Lord says, “I know your deeds… You have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” They had held steadfast to the faith and now God is going to reward their patient endurance.

There are times for all of us when living in faith means patience to endure hardships and persecution. It is in those times that our faith is truly tested and we are forced to ask ourselves, “Do I really believe what I say I believe?” The answer to that question rests in your ability to patiently wait for the victory of God.

When you stand firm in your faith you are going to have friends, and even family, who will not understand your position. You may even have to stand alone . When that happens remember two things: The battle is God’s not ours; Patient endurance gets God’s attention and releases his favor.

It was because the Church of Philadelphia had kept the commands of the Lord, enduring patiently, that God promised to save them from the most severe trials.

Prayer: Lord, I am no different than others. Adverse circumstances and hard times cause me to think of doing it my way. Grant me the grace to trust you. Amen.

Enduring Patience Gets God’s Attention

Principle:  There are times for all of us when living in faith means patience to endure hardships and persecution.

Affirmation: When my faith is truly tested and I am forced to ask myself, “Do I really believe what I say I believe?” My answer Is Yes - I am willing to endure hardship and persecution as I patiently wait for the victory of God.

Reflection: Why is it often difficult to patiently wait upon the Lord in times of hardship and persecution? As you reflect upon the promise given to the church of Philadelphia what hope does that give you in your circumstances?


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O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. - Isaiah 33:2

 

In the verse before this one there is a warning to the destroyer; you must keep destroying or be destroyed. Then, in the verse following Isaiah writes of locusts that destroys the harvest. Sandwiched between these two warnings of calamity is the cry of the people, “O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you.”

There are many stresses in a day that strain our emotional resources and it is sometimes difficult to keep our focus on the Lord. Throughout the day, incident by incident, our strength is drained until finally when the day is done we lay on our bed and cry, “O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you.”

How many are the nights that we have lain on the bed, trying to find sleep after a day of watching the destroyer devour the good that others do. The deceiver, who seeks to wreck havoc on the people of God, goes about releasing his destructive forces upon the good that we would do. Exhausted and emotionally drained we lay on our bed and cry, “O Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you.”

Alas, the morning does come when we have been refreshed by the Holy Spirit and his rest is upon us. In the morning we realize that he is our strength and our salvation in time of distress. He is our strength every morning and our salvation.

What is it that gives us the patience to endure the day and cry out with hope in the night? We wait on him because he has proven that when we endure he will always come through. If we can hold on through the day and cry out in hope at night, we will awaken renewed. He is our strength every morning and our salvation.

No enemy can destroy the one who longs for the Lord and who has learned that the Lord is their strength. He is our strength every morning and our salvation.

Prayer: Lord, I long for you. When I am distressed over the circumstances that surround me I cry out for your strength and your salvation, In Jesus name, amen.

We Patiently Long For Him

Principle: We wait on him because he has proven that when we endure he will always come through.

Affirmation: In the midst of daily activities and the stresses of life I wait patiently as I cry out, " O Lord, be gracious to me; I long for you. Be my strength every morning, my salvation in time of distress."

Reflection: Read the first five verses of Isaiah 33 and reflect on them paying particular attention to the verses 2-3. Even in times of distress we must wait patiently for him.
 
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Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. - James 5:7-8
 

My dad always had a garden. It was not a small backyard garden,  it was big. It was so big that when the vegetables ripened he put a sign out on the road inviting passersby to drop in and buy some vegetables.

When I was about five years old I decided to plant my own garden. Mom had a flower bed in front of our porch. I took a few beans from the kitchen out to mom’s flower garden. I pushed my finger into the soft dirt to make a hole for each of the beans, placed the beans in the holes and covered them up. Then I waited.

Being a young gardener, I was impatient. Every few minutes I would look to see if the beans were coming up yet. Finally, after an eternity of about five days, little sprouts began to stick up out of the dirt. Then day by day I watched as the sprouts became full sized plants. After an eternity of weeks the plants produced little flowers that grew into bean pods.

It was a long spring of waiting, but the reward was in the satisfaction of knowing I had raised a crop. Of course there was the reward at the dinner table too when mom served the fresh picked beans for dinner.

James is telling us that we must learn the lesson of the patient farmer. We must stand firm and wait patiently for our Lord to return. We must stand firm in the Christian faith, and we must stand firm in our personal faith.

When we come to Christ we are like the child who plants his first garden. We expect the harvest any day and anxiously await signs that the harvest is ready. Then, as the days go by and we become interested in other things, we can’t forget that the harvest is coming. He is coming, wait patiently and with expectancy.

Prayer: Lord, I’m still a little like that five year old gardener. I need patience and perseverance to endure until you return. Grant it in Jesus name, amen.

He’s Coming… Wait Patiently

Principle: We must learn the lesson of the patient farmer standing firm as we wait patiently for our Lord to return.  

Affirmation: As the one who has planted seed in the ground waits for the time of harvest, so I, who have placed my faith in Christ, wait patiently for his return.

Reflection: James tells us that we should wait patiently for the return of the Lord just as a farmer waits patiently for harvest time. How should we be waiting for the Lord's return?

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I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears… The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. – Psalm 34:4-8

David is telling the story of a strange event in the writing of this psalm. He was hiding from Saul and on the move when he stumbled into the camp of another enemy. Realizing he was about to be captured and probably killed he quickly began to act like a man who has lost his mind. The enemy thought he was crazy and were afraid to harm him so they drove him away.

When we trust the Lord he will make a way of escape for us in every situation, but we have to trust him to come through, even when he waits to the last second. If David did not have a pattern of trusting the Lord in difficult times he would not have been prepared to respond in this situation.

David displayed a characteristic of patience that we don’t often think of. David displayed the kind of patience that is ready to act, but only when he knows the right thing to do in the situation. That may mean waiting for the right second to act.

Years ago I used to play Racquetball regularly. Racquetball is a very fast moving game and it took me a while to learn that a major key to scoring points is to patiently wait for the ball (a ball that is coming at you at about 60 miles per hour). What I mean by that is if you jump at the ball a split second to soon you will mishit it and you will not have control. The difference is a split second, but to patiently wait that split second makes the difference between getting the point or not getting the point.

That is the kind of patience David displayed in this situation. He already knew that God had dispatched angels to protect him, but he had to wait for the right time to act. We are often in the same position of having to wait for God to give us direction before we act. That requires patience, a fruit of the Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, in pressing times I tend to respond according to my human nature. I know angels are protecting so grant me the grace to wait for you to come through with the answer. In Jesus name, amen.

Angels Protect Those Who Patiently Trust Him

 

Principle: When we patiently trust the Lord he will make a way of escape for us in every situation.

Affirmation: When I am surprised by an unexpected circumstance I wait for wisdom to respond in an appropriate manner.

Reflection: Have you been surprised by an unexpected adverse circumstance that demanded an immediate response? How did you respond? Did you appeal to our Father for wisdom and wait his response?



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The Daily God Walk now has a study guide edition.
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It also provides a format for leading small groups
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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

The first fruit of the spirit that is listed in Galatians five is love. In our verse today Paul begins to describe love. First in a line of many descriptive phrases is this; Love is patient. When we love as Christ has loved, we will be patient.

You can usually tell whether a person is in love with another, or if they are just infatuated with them by whether they have patience with them. Love is first concerned with the other and therefore there is patient consideration of the others needs. Infatuation is based in satisfying the desire that the other produces in us; it is more about us than it is the other person.

The statement, “I can’t live without you and I want to be with you,” is flattering to us, but it is usually about needs and desires of an infatuated person and not about what is best for us.

This principle is not only true in romantic love, but it is also true in our faith walk. I have heard many people say something like, “I go to church on Sunday because I feel so much better for having gone.” Another statement I’ve heard many times is, “There is no high like the Most High.” That’s catchy, but what is it really saying? It seems to be saying, “I’m plugged into God for the high I get.”

I have noticed that people who have a relationship with God on the infatuation level find it difficult to be patient with him when they don’t feel better after having gone to church and when there is no “high” in their walk.

The Holy Spirit produces agape love in our hearts and the fruit of that love is patience with God and others. Infatuation with God produces an expectancy which demands that God serve me right now or I’ll do it my way. 

Prayer: Lord, I want to love you with pure agape love that is patient. Help me to serve you because it’s right and to patiently wait to hear your voice and to do your will. In Jesus name, amen.

Love Is Patient

Principle: When we love as Christ loved we will be patient.

Affirmation: I daily renew my relationship with God so that I might love as Christ loves and be patient with God and others.

Reflection: Ask yourself this question - If love is about pleasing, or blessing another, and infatuation is about satisfying my own desires, then do I really love God and others or am I infatuated with the idea of loving them?


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 Your Thoughts: We would love to know your thoughts on this post. Just click on the the "comments" button at the top of the pagef you liked this post you may want to get entire month. Get the entire month of the Daily God Walk as our way of saying thanks for following this blog. To get your copy JUST CLICK HERE

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The Daily God Walk now has a study guide edition.
Readers are finding that having the study guide helps them internalize the messages in the devotions.
It also provides a format for leading small groups
Check it out by clicking here

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