What's it all about?

Hangin' in

Check it out
If you get: frustrated when the traffic is doing 90kmh in a 100kmh speed zone; uptight when there’s more than five people in line at the automatic teller; annoyed when someone jumps the queue in the supermarket; or upset with a crying baby in a meeting, you’re lacking what I lack, and that’s patience.
Patience, as I’m beginning to understand, is the strength to endure and persevere despite delays and detours. Colossians 1:11 says this ability comes from God’s mighty power. I need that kind of patience power.
My prayer is like what I saw on a poster once, “Lord, give me patience, but hurry!”
What do you pray?

Think about it
Who would want to be God? He has to put up with our temper tantrums, our stubbornness and our mistakes. He must ask, “Will they ever learn?” But He doesn’t.
God is incredibly patient. The Bible says, “Don’t forget that the Lord is patient because he wants people to be saved” (2 Peter 3:15, CEV). He’s hanging in for us.
List the things you need to be patient about.
Do I need to be patient about the same things God does? Read 1 Thessalonians 5:14; James 5:7, 8; and Hebrews 6:12.

Work it out
Marie Durant was 14 when French authorities and the Holy Roman Empire captured her in northern France with a group of Huguenot women. They were fleeing to the relative safety of walled cities and almshouses and people who understood their plight, in Holland, to escape the persecution.
Marie was interrogated because of her belief. She’d been raised a Protestant—Huguenots believed and followed the Bible; they knew Jesus was the only and complete saviour—but Protestants were outlawed. Now she’d been captured, what would she do? Was the belief of her father and mother her belief?
The authorities did not ask Marie to steal, become a prostitute or break God’s law. They asked her to give up the heresy. It was that simple; deny the Huguenot faith and win back freedom.
However, Marie chose to remain true to her God. She was locked in a cell in a prison on the coast. The authorities asked her to give up her faith in return for freedom every few weeks. Each time she refused.
Weeks turned into months and the thought of being free and enjoying life with other teenagers plagued Marie’s mind, but still she would not buckle.
Months turned into years and the desire to get married and have children nagged at Marie, but she held strong.
Years turned into decades and wrinkles changed Marie’s complexion; her hair turned white, but still she would not change her mind.
Where was the God that she held to? What was He doing for her? What good was such a strong faith when nothing changed?
Marie Durant walked free 39 years after being imprisoned. The memory of her decision is etched as one word into the stone wall of her cell: “resist.”
How do people develop patience like that?
What do the following texts suggest?
Romans 5:1-5, Romans 12:12, James 1:2-4

Live it!
If a red light delays you and you miss a tragic accident, you breathe a sigh of relief. If you break a leg and X-rays detect the early onset of a treatable cancer, you’re thankful. If you receive a phone call at 2 am and smell smoke and save your family from fire, God is good.
God is good all the time, but these moments of understanding His will and timing are rare. As John Piper says in his book Future Grace, it’s the unplanned place and the unplanned pace that are sometimes life’s greatest challenges.
We live in an instant coffee, instant milk world. If we want food heated, we nuke it in the microwave—who’s got time to wait for the oven? If we want to find information about something, we surf the Internet. If we want to contact a friend, we phone their mobile. If we want it, we get it now. Waiting is a waste of time.
Perhaps that’s why it’s hard to wait on the Lord and hang with Him by faith when things go wrong. I found the following text recently and it helped me:
“Be patient and trust the Lord. Don’t let it bother you when all goes well for those who do sinful things” (Psalm 37:7, CEV).
Waiting in faith is the challenge.
The Bible is full of promises that help people live by faith in God while waiting for Him. Check these out. You may need them sooner than you think.
Psalm 130:5, Isaiah 25:9, 30:18 and 64:4, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 5:7, 8