"Patience doesn't require expectation." That quote has been on my mind for a while now. I truly believe that God has been showing and telling me how to be patient effectively. Too many times I would become patient when I wanted someone to change or when I wanted something, but when things didn't go as I expected I let go and feel discouraged. Patience is waiting and having hope even when things don't go like we expected them to. When we have an unrealistic expectation already in our minds we can actually set ourselves to become discouraged. You start to think that all the waiting and praying we did was a waste of time because what we wanted or expected did not happen. The same could be said for relationships. Our expectation of how that person "ought" to act keeps us continuously focusing on the bad characteristics, instead of realizing the characteristics that make us attracted to that person in the first place. Whether it be family, friends, dating relationship, marriage, etc. I think the most dangerous situation myself or anybody else can be in is when we expect our relationships, job, material possessions, etc to give them pure happiness to compensate for the emptiness they have. Our unrealistic expectations of how to achieve happiness apart from God is vanity and emptiness. God, who transcends our culture and individual inclination can only satisfy that happiness we seek.
If we continue to feed our flesh, instead of the Spirit we will never be fully happy and always feel empty because our flesh is NEVER satisfied. We then get mad at God, because we pray and wait and our expectations still don't happen. That is just the thing, we won't be satisfied even if our expectation was fulfilled. We would always want more and more. So what if God let us have all our expectations? Whats next? Would we have any room for Him? My guess, would be NO. So since our flesh can't be satisfied, since culture can't satisfy us, since people can't satisfy us. We must only look to someone who transcends culture and ourselves, and that can only be God! NEVER BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR FLESH!! "To Be Carnally Minded Is Death, But To Be Spiritually Minded Is Life And Peace."-Romans 8:6.
I hope whoever reads this is encouraged, and I pray that I will continue to walk in the Spirit!! Keep me accountable, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ.
wow this is so encouraging! This reminded me of the time when Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman and says that He can give her Living Water and she will never go thirsty again. And like our Pastor says,"God gives us a hunger and a thirst that only He can satisfy."
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you wrote about patience because it is something that I struggle with. Good to hear your perspective.