Patience (2)

"A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense."
-Proverbs 19:11
      Last post I talked about things that cause me to be impatient. Recently I have been thinking about why these things bother me so much, and I find that it doesn't really make sense. Most of the issues I have with other people is when they can't do something or they don't put effort into something. While it may seem justifiable to be frustrated when people don't place effort into something, most of the time this bothers me when I am playing sports. If you think about it, sports are supposed to be fun, and a person can put as much effort as they want because they just want to have fun. For me personally, I can't really enjoy myself unless I push myself every game, but other people might have more fun not pushing themselves so much.
      As I reflected on these things, it was almost as if I was rebuking myself, or the Holy Spirit rebuking me. I can't let my goals and my desires allow me to get frustrated at other people. At a YDJ (my church college group) meeting, we were talking about how to pray, and we talked about the Lord's prayer. I was reminded of the powerful part of that prayer which reads "Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven". Romans 8:28 tells us that "we know that God causes all things to work together for good". Even when my will is not being done, I can't get impatient because I know God is working for my good.
      Being patient is not an easy task. This is especially true for me because I like to plan things and be in control of things. I'm reminded of a post I wrote very early in my blog, titled "Who control's your life?". In this post I wrote about how no matter how hard we try we cannot control the way our life goes. If we try to hold on to our lives and direct how it goes, we will be extremely disappointed. When I want or need something, I'll try to do whatever I can to get it myself. Only when I realize I cannot do something myself do I turn to prayer. After I pray I expect that God will answer my prayers according to my time, but that is not how God works.
      Ecclesiastes 3 says that "there is an appointed time for everything". Not everything I want will happen when I want it to, because it is not the right time. While Jesus was on this Earth, He often told His disciples that it was not His time. Jesus surrendered his plans to God, and knew that God had the best plans for Him. Trusting in God and being patient is a recipe for a fulfilling life. We can't demand that things go our way or happen in our timing because "For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so (God's) ways higher than your ways, and (His) thoughts higher than your thoughts". God has a time for everything, and we have to surrender to His will and trust Him. This certainly is not easy, but if we take time to understand who God is, it will be easier to trust Him.  
-Smart