So Not Patient

Anyone out there excelling at patience?  You can wait all day or week or month without feeling the least bit of nervous energy.  Calm, cool, and collected all along the way.

I know some of us are more patient than others.  By our nature, some of us carry a calm demeanor.  I’m not patient.  I fully admit this is not one of my better accolades.  Though I do admit patience is a virtue and an area I do strive to do better in life.

How do you handle the wait?  The seasons that feel long?  The blows you keep receiving when all you want is for God to throw you a bone.  Like come on, help me out here!  I know I’m not the only one struggling at times to be patient.

It’s in moments like this when I’m thankful I can find a connection with and in Scripture.  The Bible is a living and active book, and I’m thankful God still works through it in my life.  This particular day I found myself in the Old Testament book of Numbers.

On the heels of Exodus and Leviticus, the Israelites had been led out of slavery.  Out of Egypt.  One would think this HUGE blessing would result in a change of heart and an increased faith in God.  A change in heart to praise the Lord in all things and let the world know what God had done.  Yeah…didn’t happen.

The Israelites continued to complain.  They continued to argue.  They continued to stir up trouble.  I know, I know, it sounds like our world today.  Most importantly, no matter how many times God showed them mercy and bailed them out, they still cursed God.  Constantly wanting more and convinced that what they did have, was not enough.  

How would you handle this?  Again, like I shared before I know patience is an area for me that needs work.  I would have been more than frustrated if I had been in this situation.  Struggling to hear my own thoughts in my head for all of the noise going on around me.  The louder and more chaotic situations are around me, the more fuel my anxiety has to speed out of control.

The Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land.  Slavery was behind them, new life was ahead.  But they lacked one major thing.  Faith in God.  Because they continued to grumble and argue and curse God, what was supposed to be an eleven day journey turned into forty years!  The book of Numbers is all about the wandering they did along the way.  It’s full of complaining people, but a faithful God.

Moses didn’t always make the best choices.  He didn’t always follow God’s leading in the way He should, but I still admire him.  God instructed Moses in chapter eleven of Numbers, to gather seventy men who were leaders in the church.  God intended for these seventy leaders to carry some of the burden Moses was carrying leading the people.  

In the midst of all of the chaos, God provided for Moses so that he didn’t have to carry a huge weight on his own.  In the midst of the whining, God was there.  In the midst of the complaining and arguing, God was there.

The same goes for you and me.  No matter how chaotic our situation might feel, God is present. If you’re like me and you struggle being patient in seasons of waiting, God is there to give us clarity and peace.  He grants us with discernment when there is so much noise drowning out our thoughts.  We must choose to seek Him.  To trust His guidance.  Make a choice to spend time with Him today.  He won’t steer you wrong.  The Promised Land is ahead.  

Numbers 11:10-17

Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?  Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.