What The Bible Says About Patience

 What will it look like? What will it be like? When my world turns out like You planned, When will I get there? Feels like I'm nowhere, My dreams are like dust in my hair, But I, I know That this is the waiting, I anxiously wait, 'Cause I hold on to love that will never let go And in these times that my patience is tested, Won't You remind me that I'm not home? Here in the waiting, The waiting, the waiting, All of the questions, secret confessions, Lord, You'll make sense of it all And I know it's hard, So I'm letting go of these thoughts that are taking control, This is the waiting, I anxiously wait, As I hold on to love that will never let go And in these times when my patience is tested, Won't You remind me that I'm not alone? Here in the waiting, The waiting, the waiting, Oh, and I, I know, I, I, know, This is the waiting, Ooh, the waiting, And in these times that my patience is tested, You are the love that will never let go, Here in the waiting, The waiting, So I'll be here waiting, waiting, waiting, Believing You'll never let go. Deuteronomy 31 verse 6 says, Don't mistake God's patience for His absence. His timing is perfect, and His presence is constant. He's always with you. Have patience and wait for things you want most. Don't chase it. Don't run after it. If God wants you to have it, He will give it to you. Amen. Patience is the companion of Wisdom. Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. Romans 12 verse 12, Romans 8 verse 25, Ephesians 4 verse 2, 1 Corinthians 13 verse 4, Psalm 37 verse 7-9, Colossians 3 verse 12, Exodus 14 verse 14, Galatians 5 verse 22, 2 Peter 3 verse 8, Colossians 1 verse 11, James 5:8.

In all of this we see how God gives us patience to wait for the things that we need to wait on because a lot of the time, if we are being honest in all of this tonight, it can be very hard to wait when we want something but if we stop, be still, and learn to trust in the patience that God provides then we learn to know that God provides the patience that we need in order to know that it's all in His Timing.

Put 

All Things Aside 

To rely on God 

In His wisdom 

Enduring hardship 

Not knowing the outcome

Continuing to trust in Him

Ever-present guidance

With this acronym we see that when we put all things aside to rely on God in His Wisdom, when enduring hardship and not knowing the outcome we are continuing to trust in Him with His ever present guidance. We see in all that we can have patience through God's Wisdom as we put our trust in Him.

We don't have to be afraid when it comes to God and Patience because Patience with God will get us through our enduring hardship that we face and we have put all things aside to rely on God for His ever present guidance in knowing that God gives us strength to endure, hope for today, peace for tomorrow.

No matter what we go through, sometimes patience is hard. Trust me I know, because me waiting patiently for anything is hard for me because I want to do it right away, I don't want to wait to do it.

Now when I trust in God and His ever present guidance and I rely on Him without knowing the outcome, then when I put all things aside from what I want in my timing and I rely on God in His Wisdom then I see that the patience I need to have is not my own patience, but God's patience.

I need to have God's patience because I need to be patient with God and rely on His Timing, not mine.

We see that it can be hard to do when it comes to that, but we know that God is always in control of things and when God is in control, our patience sometimes can be tested but God will help us through.

So this is where we now see how we need to keep fighting the good fight of Faith, how we need to have perseverance, and how we need to keep relying and trusting God who can give us the strength to do all things through Him that gives the endurance to not only run our race well but to have patience in Him.

His Timing is what will get us to that Patience we desperately seek in Him for His Good and His Glory. 

When all things work together for the good of those who love God, we can then see the patience that we need to endure in our relationship and in our Faith walk with Him because God is always in our story.

This is the main thing I want to end on tonight, after sharing about how God is always in our stories.

There's torn up pages in this book, Words that tell me I'm no good, Chapters that defined me for so long

But the hands of grace and endless love, Dusted off and picked me up Told my heart that hope is never gone, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails When I'm at my weakest, I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story, So if the storm you're walking through, Feels like it's too much and you

Wonder if He even cares at all, Well, hold on tight to what you know, He promised He won't let you go

Your song of healing's written in His scars, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts He holds my heart, He never fails, When I'm at my weakest I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story, If it reads like addiction, If it reads like disease, He's the One who frees the prisoner, He's the healer of all things, If it reads like depression

If it reads broken home, He's the One who holds your sorrow, He won't leave you here alone, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails, When I'm at my weakest, I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story (you're in this story), God is in my story (right here in my story). 

I wanted to end on this because I want you all to know that you're never alone, God is working in your story to help craft your scrapbook of your testimony daily and I also wanted us to be reminded that patience is a virtue and a key. It’s sometimes hard, and if we’re being honest we can struggle with having patience but we can struggle to be patient. God helps through that though, so that we may grow further in our walk, in our Faith, and in our relationship with Him always.

Weariness In The Strength God Renews

 Matthew 11 verse 28-30 says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Isaiah 40 verse 29-31 says: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 

Revelation 2 verse 3, 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 13, Psalm 73 verse 26, Jeremiah 29 verse 11, John 16 verse 33, 1 Peter 5 verse 7, Hebrews 12 verse 1-3, Exodus 33 verse 14, Psalm 4 verse 8, Philippians 4 verse 6-7, Psalm 69 verse 3, Hebrews 4 verse 16, Philippians 4 verse 13, Habakkuk 3 verse 19, Ecclesiastes 12 verse 12, James 1 verse 2, 2 Timothy 1 verse 7. 

In these scriptures we see how God can give us strength in our times of weariness and feeling down. We see that He can renew the weariness by giving us strength and the weariness in the strength in which God renews to His children can come a long way because our weariness is in the strength that God renews and our strength comes from the weariness in which God renews and restores to us because the weariness in the strength that God renews is the pillar of strength that renews us in the weariness of which we sometimes have but then we see in weariness in the strength of which God renews and takes our weariness away because He gives us strength to overcome our fears, our anxieties, our troubles in which we feel like we carry many burdens. 

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, We will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, Our God, You reign forever, Our hope, our strong Deliverer, You are the everlasting God, The everlasting God, You do not faint, You won't grow weary, You're the defender of the weak, You comfort those in need, You lift us up on the wings Like eagles. 

When you’re all alone. When there’s trouble stirring in your soul And if your world is falling apart, Just hold on for the morning break to dawn, Come and lay your burdens down To the place where freedom is found, At the feet, at the feet of Jesus, Come and lay your burdens down, When the deepest sorrow weighs on your heart, When you’ve prayed for answers but the answers never come, For every tear that you cry, There’s a promise He will make your burdens light. 

Lately, been down so low, My faith seems to come and go, Some days, father, I don't know, How did my love grow cold? But You help me see again, This world is not the end, Jesus, my sweetest friend, You're worth the suffering, Your love is my reward, Your love is my reward, When every day is just another struggle And every choice is an act of war, Gotta pray, gotta press on To the prize worth fighting for, When it feels like I'll never make it, When my heart's crying out for more, Gotta pray, gotta press on, To the prize worth fighting for, The battle rages on But your promise keeps me strong, I know I'll win this race With your unfailing grace, Your love is my reward, Your love is my reward, When every day is just another struggle And every choice is an act of war, Gotta pray, gotta press on To the prize worth fighting for, When it feels like I'll never make it, When my heart's crying out for more, Gotta pray, gotta press on, To the prize worth fighting for. 

It's quarter to eight, And I'm running late, But my mind's still asleep in the bed, I catch all the news, Then I gotta choose, To make sure my spirit is fed. On the brightest day, in the darkest night, There's a voice I hear, and it keeps me right, Tells me what I need to know, Jesus on the radio, Got me dancing to the melody of rhythm and hope, Jesus on the radio Singing songs about the one that saved my soul, Jesus on the radio, Oh no, you know it doesn't matter where I go, If I got Jesus on the radio, Jesus on the radio. 

If I were You I would've given up on me by now, I would've labeled me a lost cause, 'Cause I feel just like a lost cause, If I were You I would've turned around and walked away, I would've labeled me beyond repair, 'Cause I feel like I'm beyond repair, Oh, but somehow You don't see me like I do, Somehow You're still here, You're the God who stays, You're the God who stays, You're the one who runs in my direction, When the whole world walks away, You're the God who stands, With wide open arms And You tell me nothing I have ever done can separate my heart, From the God who stays. 

God's not done with you, Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars, God's not done with you, Even when you're lost and it's hard and you're falling apart, God's not done with you, It's not over, it's only begun, So don't hide, don't run, 'Cause God's not done with You-ou-ou-ou-ou, You-ou-ou-ou-ou, There's a light you don't notice Until you're standing in the dark And there's a strength that's growing Inside your shattered heart, Woah-oh-oh-oh, God's not done with you, Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars, God's not done with you, Even when you're lost and it's hard and you're falling apart, God's not done with you, It's not over, it's only begun, So don't hide, don't run, Cause God's not done with You-ou-ou-ou-ou, You-ou-ou-ou-ou, He's not done with, You-ou-ou-ou-ou, You-ou-ou-ou-ou, He's got a plan, this is part of it, He's gonna finish what He started, He's got a plan, this is part of it, He's gonna finish what He started, He's not done, God's not done writing your story, No, He's not done, God's not done with you, God's not done with you. 

If I didn't know what it hurt like to be broken, Then how would I know what it feels like to be whole, If I didn't know what it cuts like to be rejected, Then I wouldn't know the joy of coming home, Maybe it's okay if I'm not okay, 'Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me, Maybe it's all right if I'm not all right, 'Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life, If I didn't know what it looked like to be dirty, Then I wouldn't know what it feels like to be clean And if all of my shame hadn't drove me to hide in the shadows, Then I wouldn't know the beauty of being free, Maybe it's okay if I'm not okay, 'Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me, Maybe it's all right if I'm not all right, 'Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life, Father, let Your kingdom come, Let Your will be done, Here in my heart as in Heaven, Father, let Your kingdom come, Let Your will be done, Here in my heart as in Heaven, oh. 

We have raised our hopes and our cities high, We have followed fragile dreams But only One could take the measure of our goals And we've stumbled over the trials of life And we've wrestled the unseen, But only One can calm the storm inside our souls, In the hands of God we will fall, Rest for the restless, and the weary, Hope for the sinner, In the hands of God we stand tall, Hands that are mighty to deliver, Giving us freedom, When our strength gave way to the weight of guilt, 'Til we strained for every breath, Only One could lift our shame and make us well And when all is finished and we face, The fearsome power of death, Only One has overcome the gates of hell, You're amazing, You're amazing, You are And we praise You, Lord, For what Your hands have done. 

Thank You God For The Strength That God Renews. 

When We Are Weary, The Lord Will Be Our Strength. 

I would like to share two more songs with all of you before sharing my final thoughts. 

Weary traveler Beat down from the storms that you have weathered, Feels like this road just might go on forever Carry on, You keep on givin', But every day this world just keeps on takin', Your tired heart is on the edge of breaking, Carry on Weary traveler, restless soul, You were never meant to walk this road alone, It'll all be worth it so just hold on, Weary traveler, you won't be weary long And no more searchin', Heaven's healing's gonna find where all the hurt is, When Jesus calls, we'll lay down all our heavy burdens, Carry on, oh, Weary traveler, restless soul, You were never meant to walk this road alone, It'll all be worth it so just hold on, Weary traveler, you won't be weary long, No, you won't be weary long, You won't be weary long (weary long), Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Someday soon we're gonna make it home, Gonna make it home. 

You must. You must think I'm strong, To give me what I'm going through, Well, forgive me, Forgive me if I'm wrong, But this looks like more than I can do, On my own, I know I'm not strong enough to be, Everything that I'm supposed to be, I give up, I'm not strong enough, Hands of mercy won't you cover me, Lord right now I'm asking you to be, Strong enough, Strong enough For the both of us, yeah, Well, maybe, Maybe that's the point, To reach the point of giving up, 'Cause when I'm finally, Finally at rock bottom, Well, that's when I start lookin' up And reachin' out, I know I'm not strong enough to be, Everything that I'm supposed to be, I give up, I'm not strong enough, Hands of mercy won't you cover me?, Lord right now I'm asking you to be, Strong enough, Strong enough, 'Cause I'm broken, Down to nothing But I'm still holding on to the one thing, You are God And you are strong When I am weak, I can do all things, Through Christ who gives me strength And I don't have to be, Strong enough, Strong enough, I know I can do all things Through Christ who gives me strength And I don't have to be Strong enough, Strong enough... Oh... Yeah... 

We see in all of this and in Jordan St. Cyr's song Weary Traveler and Matthew West's song Strong Enough can be a resemblance in how in our Weariness the strength God renews from that becomes strong enough in order for us to persevere in the Belovedness of God's unfailing Love and Redemption of the heart of Jesus who loves us even in our weariness because even in that, He renews the strength that we need in order to have that peace that surpasses all understanding in the Heart and Mind of Christ Jesus. 

So you see the Weariness we once had, is in the strength of which God renews in our hearts to grow deeper in Faith with Him and to know that He hasn't, won't, and doesn't ever give up on us because we are His Beloved children. 

We are His Beloved Children who are owning our Belovedness to have that renewed strength. When we have that renewed strength, the weariness we once felt just becomes faded and is gone because God will give us the peace we need. So just remember that the strength God renews in our hearts to let go of the weariness we feel at times, is to be remembered in knowing that all of that Weariness is in the strength that God renews because God is Love and God provides the strength that we need in order to grow in order to see how God gives us that pillar of the strength in our heart and how we could overcome the weariness of what we know, which is God will never leave us in Brokenness. 

Finding Ourselves In Who God Says We Are

Tonight I want to talk on three things, the first being Self control, second being Our worth, and lastly finding out that we don't need to always settle for less when our self worth becomes more in who God says we are. 2 Timothy 1 verse 7, 2 Peter 1 verse 5-7, 1 Corinthians 9 verse 24-27, Titus 1 verse 8, Titus 2 verse 11-14, Romans 12 verse 1-2, 1 Corinthians 13 verse 4-5, James 1 verse 19, Philippians 4 verse 13. Psalm 139 verse 13-15, Jeremiah 29 verse 11, Luke 12 verse 6-7, Titus 3 verse 5, Romans 5 verse 8, Romans 12 verse 3, James 4 verse 6, 1 John 4 verse 19-21, 1 Samuel 16 verse 7, Ephesians 2 verse 10. James 1 verse 2, Romans 8 verse 28, Isaiah 41 verse 10, Romans 8 verse 32, Hebrews 7 verse 25, John 14 verse 6, 1 John 5 verse 4, John 15 verse 13, Romans 10 verse 17, Psalm 62 verse 11, Revelation 3 verse 10, Philippians 3 verse 13-14, 3 John 1 verse 2, 1 John 4 verse 9, John 14 verse 27.

 In these scriptures we see how when we have self control, we can rely on God to show us our self worth and that we don't have to always settle for less because even though sometimes less is more, who God says we are is worth more than what the enemy tries to think of us as which is less, because He will try to make us feel less than who God says we are and we will then if we believe the lie of what the enemy says, we will then begin to question, do we have the self control to stick up for ourselves? 

Do we have the self control to allow our hearts to not settle for less, but settle for more in our worth and in our identity of who God says we are as Beloved children of God? 

These are all great questions to ask ourselves, I want to share some different songs. 

There's nothing worth more, That could ever come close, No thing can compare, You're our living hope, Your presence, Lord, I've tasted and seen, Of the sweetest of loves, Where my heart becomes free, And my shame is undone, Your presence, Lord, Holy Spirit, You are welcome here, Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere, Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for, To be overcome by Your presence, Lord, Your presence, Lord. 

Don't know how it is You looked at me, And saw the person that I could be, Awakening my heart, breaking through the dark, Suddenly Your grace, Like sunlight burning at midnight, Making my life something so, Beautiful, beautiful, Mercy reaching to save me, All that I need, You are so beautiful, beautiful, Now there's a joy inside I can't contain, But even perfect days can end in rain And though it's pouring down, I see You through the clouds, Shining on my face, Like sunlight burning at midnight, Making my life something so, Beautiful, beautiful, Mercy reaching to save me, All that I need, You are so beautiful, beautiful, I have come undone, But I have just begun, Changing by Your grace, ooh, yeah, Ooh, yeah. 

Spent today in a conversation, In the mirror face to face with, Somebody less than perfect, I wouldn't choose me first if, I was looking for a champion, In fact I'd understand if, You picked everyone before me But that's just not my story, True to who You are, You saw my heart And made Something out of nothing, I don't need my name in lights, I'm famous in my Father's eyes, Make no mistake He knows my name, I'm not living for applause, I'm already so adored, It's all His stage, He knows my name oh, oh, He knows my name oh, oh. Lord you're worthy, oh so worthy, Lord you're worthy, oh so worthy, Lord you're worthy, oh so worthy, Lord you're worthy, oh so worthy, Lord you're worthy, oh so worthy And oh my soul, You have not been left alone, For He counted us worthy, so lets be worthy, Just trust and know, He strong enough to carry on, He counted us worthy, so lets be worthy, Oh my soul, Your name is written in the book of life, Keep walking in dominion and his might, You serve the son you serve the one, Who knew you long 'fore you begun, And you are worthy, and you are worthy, Go ahead, encourage yourself, Look inside and draw from the well, The water flows and heaven knows, That you can't make it on your own, He said your worthy so lets be worthy. 

In these songs we see that Holy Spirit is in our midst daily, we see that we are beautiful in His Eyes because we are made in the image of Him. We see that He knows our name, that we are worthy in His Embrace. 

We see that there is nothing less or worth more than the beautiful worth we find ourselves in and who God our Heavenly Father shows us that we are. 

We now know that no thing can compare to the living hope of God. 

When we see this, we now have the self control through the blood of the lamb of Jesus Christ to be reminded of our self worth in God's Eyes, to be reminded that we don't need to feel less than but rather embrace God's worth more because when we embrace the worth God sees in us, we really begin and I mean we really begin to see our self control in Christ Jesus because just like we find out less is more, the one thing if we choose to accept and know our identity in Christ then we can begin to see that if we let go of the worries because we don't need the worries to define who God says we are, then we can see that there is more to our testimony being crafted in our scrapbooks and our worth in God isn't less but it is more because He is showing us our worth and He's showing us how we can go back to the Heart of Him, and realize that we need to know that sometimes finding ourselves at times where we are stuck, can become unstuck and realize that when we are trying to find ourselves back to the heart of who He says we are, we know and realize that He says who we say we are because our God is greater, our God is merciful and will continue to bless us. Which brings this and these things to my next part in what I want to share in this study with all of you hearing this. I want us to see and to know now with what I'm going to share in this because it's very important to me to share it.

We should always feel like we have worth, because when we feel like we have less and we don't have worth, that's the enemy but if we have worth because of who God says we are then we don't feel less. 

We shouldn't feel like we are less, we should feel like we have worth. See all three things, Self control, worth, and how less is more or the more becomes greater in our lives because we know that we don't need to feel worthless, we don't need to feel helpless, we don't even need to worry more, because we need to worry less. 

If we worried less, put our worth in our hearts and minds of Christ, and we really used our self control to open up to who God says we are as a beloved child of God, then we know our identity in Him and our self worth in who He calls us to be as disciples of wonderfully made children can realize we are Loved. 

I want to end on this. 

You are more than the sum total of your feelings and perfectly capable of that little gift from Jesus called self control. 

Confidence isn't walking into a room thinking you're better than everyone, it's walking in not having to compare yourself to anyone at all. Never settle for less than your worth. It's not worth it. You deserve better. Value and love yourself more. Know your worth. Don't settle. 

Let these be reminders of finding ourselves in who God says we are daily and let us give it to Him, when we can't do it on our own, and be reminded that it's okay to not always get things right but know who we are in Christ Jesus.