Patience is a gift we always have to call upon

Romans Romans 12:12 Rejoice in our confident  hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 

I was reading these verses and my initial reaction to be patient in trouble was that is not so easy. I have a misbelief or lie that I am believing that being patient can be easier, depending on the situation. But isn't the Spirit of God living in me? The Spirit that gives me patience is always there so the truth is I can always be patient in times of trouble no matter what the circumstances may be. The first part of this verse sets you up for this truth. Rejoice in our confident hope. We always have the capability to wait on the Lord and the best action plan is to keep our focus on the hope that we can be confident in rather than on the negative things that Satan is trying to plant within us. Fight the battle and always be rejoicing in the hope that Jesus has already given us! We have to acknowledge this fruit within us and accept this gift from the Holy Spirit. When we do this everyday, we can be patient in all circumstances.
Lord, how forgetful I am of the gifts you have given me. Help me to acknowledge and praise you for these gifts everyday. Let the fruit of the Spirit pour out of me in all circumstances. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 248

There was a specific time I am reminded of when I felt at peace and really trusted God and knew I was exactly where he wanted me to be. It was without a doubt one of the most difficult times in my life. It didn’t start off peaceful and my trust in God was overwhelmed by my fear. It was when I went into labor with my daughter at 20 weeks. I went from being the most scared I have ever been to feeling complete trust and peace with God. How did that happen? It wasn’t me. It was all God. Since that time, my faith wavers, my focus isn’t on Him and peace isn’t always there. There was a moment in the hospital when I turned to God in total dependence on Him. It was the moment when not knowing what to do I prayed asking for His help. I immediately was filled with peace and the answer was given to my spirit and I knew without any doubt that all was to be okay and I was exactly where God wanted me. How is it we can have that peace? The answer is taking the focus off ourselves and putting the focus on God. Living with our focus on God is possible but it is something that we have to commit to and follow through with. Start with being in the Word of God every day. Amazing things happen when we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on the Lord. I am especially tickled by this scripture in Acts of Paul and his sense of humor. It truly shows how much he is at peace with his circumstances of being in jail for 2 years without doing anything criminal.

Acts: 26: 28-29 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 211

My bible study group finished up on the book of Hebrews last evening. I have gained so much more insight into what faith really is. In Be Confident by Warren W Wiersbe he writes the biblical definition of faith: True biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Our group discussed the man who did the tight rope walk un-tethered across the Grand Canyon yesterday. He was in constant prayer the whole time across. We don’t know if God called him to do this or if this was his idea and he prayed to God for what he needed but it does demonstrate the kind of confidence true biblical faith is made of. In spite of the circumstances and consequences, would we do as God ask us? Would you walk into a den of lions or a wall of fire? Would you pack up your family and go wherever God tells you? Would you keep strong in faith in the aftermath of losing your home to a fire? Call on Jesus to help you strengthen and keep your faith no matter the circumstances life throws at you or the consequences you will have to endure.

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 25

I think it's been the usual case that in hindsight when looking back over a situation that has happened, I can see God in it but yesterday as I went through my situation, I felt God with me the whole of it and I was able to bring praises to my lips despite the circumstances. In the bad things that happen, there is always some good that God uses for it. So, here's a recap of my not-so-great situation that turned out to be a blessing. I headed out to do some errands and stopped first at my bank ATM to deposit a check and than headed to Walmart to pick up some things for baking, etc and when I went to pay found I did not have my credit/atm card. OH NO! Thankfully, I had some checks and paid with that than headed right back over to the bank. The checker had said that in those cases he heard the atm machine eats the card and you don't get it back. Ugh. Yep, that is what happened but Cindi at the bank was so sweet and helpful in getting me set up with a temporary card and than the suprising thing happened. "Did you know your driver's license is expired." "What?!" Oh yeah, not expected but she knew about getting a renewal and told me it was a simple go in and hand over your license, take the eye test, picture and pay the fee and your done. I was hurting considerably with the pain in my shoulder and it was past lunch time at this point so I was hungry too but despite the negative circumstances I was given this positive person to help me deal with it and was thanking God because it could have been SO much worse. So, I am really thankful to God for placing this person in my path and helping with this situation that ended up being a blessing since I did not know my license had expired a month previous on my birthday. I never saw the notice in the mail and I went over to the DMV office after my daughter's class party and was in and out in 10 mintues! Praise God for helping me maintain a positive attitude throughout this experience.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.