Don’t we wish our painful circumstances would change instantly?
I know I do.
Unfortunately most of the time, it does not happen that way. Change is gradual. Obviously there is a reason change does not happen quickly. Oh goodie!
I struggle, and I know a lot of you do also with lack of patience. I call it, “Selfish Impatience.” As I want it done right now, and right now for me! Hey I do not want to wait. I do not want to be inconvenienced. I want, I want and I want it now! Me, me, me!
Although, I am trying very hard, with the Lord’s help, to wait more gracefully and not go berserk when I do not get my way quickly, even for the simplest small things, it still remains hard.
Obviously a lot has to do with not wanting to go through the pain of my journey. Oh well JBR in order to gain your freedom, there will be pain involved however long it takes! (**Self talk for myself**)
The devotional below shares three reasons why change happens little by little and is not a race. How trust plays such an important part in change and does not happen over night, along with the ability to give and receive love. It is so important for us to encourage one another (which I am truly grateful to “you” my blogger friends) and held accountable.
I hope you will be blessed by this understanding as much as I am trying to also:
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 2 Thessalonians 1:4
There is no magical formula for change. But there are some helpful principles.
First of all, change happens little by little. As this text puts it, our capacity for trust 'grows more and more' and our ability to love and to receive love 'increases'. These changes, like all of the most important changes in life, do not happen as a one-time event. An important change may require us to make a decision at a certain moment, it also requires a process that takes place over months and years.
Second, change is not a race. The change process can not be rushed. We often want to 'hurry it up', but we can't. Change that is real and long-lasting, requires patience and perseverance. When we have been practicing our dysfunctions for decades, we can expect that unlearning them will also take time.
Third, change requires that we practice the disciplines of honesty and fellowship. There is no recovery unless we find ways to move out of denial and isolation. What a wonderful gift it is to be able to share our struggles and victories with people who will 'always thank God for us' and who will encourage us, affirm us and hold us accountable.
Lord, I want my faith to grow.
I want my capacity for love to increase.
Little by little. One day at a time.
That's what I need.
Help me to move out of denial,
And out of isolation.
Help me to do my part to make
change possible in my life. Amen.
Copyright Dale and Juanita Ryan
**Explanation of the picture. I am probably delirious, but I thought when I saw the picture, it best represented patience. Even if it is a wild animal. Come on, if the bear can demonstrate patience (like waiting for its next meal, hopefully not human), then so can we.**
I, too am continuing to grow in my journey. Thank you for posting this devotional.
ReplyDeleteTrusting God and believing in HIS promises, andrea
The desire to change takes a while, wanting to chanbe but not quite knowing how takes time - the bear sitting there. The decision to change takes a moment. The bear rises. Those are the moments I love.
ReplyDeleteI like the "little by little". I can do that. Thanks for the up lifting post.
ReplyDeleteAndrea glad you are continuing to grow in your journey.
ReplyDeleteMadision great analogy, thank you for sharing!
Wanda, glad to see you here. Small baby steps is all we need to take. Do not rush!
Patience--a virtue I have far too little of. Though I have learned some as I've aged. (Probably the Lithium doesn't hurt either)
ReplyDeleteI am still growing in my journey through this world.I would not have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteYou always offer encouragement even when it seems you are holding on by your fingertips. What a gracious, admirable quality. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou are so admirable. Like Tricia said, you just hang on and still encourage all of us. Means you have plenty of strength, will power, patience and beauty. What a pearl you are. Yepp, that pearl - made by injured life, rare, valuable and all around shiny. Love
ReplyDeleteJBR,
ReplyDeleteI so look forward to these devotional posts they are so wonderful and uplifting. You are a Light on a Hill!
Thank you for sharing them with us.
I loved the BEAR!! So cute, if a bear can be cute.
We are learning to be patient together aren't we?
Thank you for all of your support, you are so dear and you are loved very much!
Vicki
Patience is truly a virtue and admired. There is so much you can learn during any trial if you're willing.
ReplyDeleteLily, Tricia, Vicky, Anonymous, Paula and Mike, thank you all for your encouraging and uplifting comments. My strength comes from God! Glad you have been blessed by this most recent devotional.♥
ReplyDeleteThanks for encouraging us by sharing your journey my friend.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean when you say 'you want it now'. Some people may often deny it but, we are all pretty much into me, me, me.
ReplyDeleteI always say "what does not kill us, will make us stronger" (another borrowed quote)
Biscut, Denise and Barbz, thank you for your comments and quotes!
ReplyDeletePowerful devotional full of promise. I certainly can relate to waiting. It's hard. Hang in there girl.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a "rushed world" where time seems not enough to do all of our errands and routines. This is a great reminder to slow down and notice all great things that otherwise, we would have missed seeing, hearing, etc. Patience...we need to learn...as we hope for that "future" with the Lord...God bless.
ReplyDeleteOh what an adorable picture to go along with a powerful message.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture! It is so completely true of this post! If animals can wait out their hunger patiently until they find their next meal, so can we! God will provide all our daily needs if we simply trust in Him!
ReplyDeleteLove and Hugs ~ Kat
Yes, change in my character is a slow process. I personally need to learn more about dying to myself.
ReplyDeleteJames 1:4
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
♥Hope
I fell behind in all the blogs I follow and so am catching up right now. I just left a message on your last entry that could have gone here, just as easily...
ReplyDeleteI said that it is all cyclicle. Sometimes we just have to wait...
I have noticed that most things in my life seem to run in cycles. Like the cycle of days and nights, and seasons and the cycle of life itself, my own life waxes and wanes. Like the tides that roll in and out and back in, my emotions swell to unbearable porportions and then dissipate again to tolerable and even pleasant levels.
Sometimes when I am in the worst of it, it is so hard to remember that nothing lasts forever.
Sometimes when I am in the best of it, it is painful to remember that nothing lasts forever.
But, without pain, would we recognize pleasure? Without times of struggle and anxiety, would we appreciate peace? Without sorrow could we really know what happiness was?
Life with growth is always changeing, as nothing stays the same. Not for an hour, not for a minute, not for a second. And the more flexable we are, the easier the journey
ReplyDelete