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I’m going to share about one of my biggest struggles. Patience. Ugh. Gross. It is, in my opinion, the worst. I really struggle with this being a fruit of the spirit. Like, the term for it I learned when memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 was “long-suffering”. Long-suffering. Looooooooooong- SUFFERING. And boy is that how it feels. It seems like I’m trapped in an eternal limbo waiting for things to happen the way I think they should.
But you see that’s the problem. I’m demanding that things happen the way I think they should. Not according to God’s plans, but according to my preference. The problem is that I can’t see the whole path. I don’t have that perspective, God does.
When I was growing up we would take day trips to the mountains. If you’ve ever traveled through mountains you’ve probably noticed that those roads wind like crazy. There are curves, switchbacks, and everything that makes a journey feel slow. We all know the quickest route between two points is a straight line and there are very few of those when climbing a peak.
When those roads were designed the civil engineer had to determine a lot of trade offs. Where would the road go around vs through? What was the safest route that would remain safe over time? Were there things that needed to be avoided? God has to look at those same things when leading me down my road. Sometimes He’ll give me the power to blast through, other times He’ll take me around it. He might need to lead me through windy parts to build my stamina and control in order to keep climbing. He might take me to a turn off so I can have a break to enjoy the view.
No matter which way He takes me I’m only going to be content if I trust Him. If I find myself being impatient that shows that I’m not trusting Him and need to refocus.
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
In all reality, I’m the one that chooses the suffering in long-suffering. I can either focus on the ten feet of frustrating, windy road ahead of me, or I can trust and enjoy the view as He takes me on the greatest ride I could ever imagine.
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