PATIENCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Rom. 15:5  May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other--each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.  NLT

      If you lack patience, don't let it bother you.  God gives us all the patience we need if we but ask Him to.  So often we struggle with patience because we don't go to the source of patience, God.  We try to no avail to handle things on our own and when we fail to do what we want or expect to do, we get upset and lose patience over it.  One of the biggest reasons why we struggle to get along with others is due to our lack of patience.  God can help us; He will help us, if we turn to Him and ask Him for it.

      Now I know that as we get older, patience physically becomes harder.  Our nerves are more on edge and if we use caffeine in our drinks and don’t get adequate rest, it makes it even harder.  Therefore, we need to try to work harder on helping ourselves as much as we can.  When we sense ourselves getting impatient, we need to try to pause and ask the Lord to help us through the moment and deal with things as we should. 

       If you get down and discouraged over things, turn to the Lord; He will lift you up as you focus on Him and all that He has done for you.  The Lord does not want you down and in a funky mood.  He wants to see you joyful, upbeat, feeling positive about things.  The Lord will help you when you are down if you will but turn to Him and ask Him to.

      When we deal with life patiently and positively, we find ourselves better able to live in harmony with others.  Loving one another with godly love and seeing one another as Christ sees us, is very doable when we let Jesus be Lord of our hearts and living.  When we keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus, life becomes so much easier and enjoyable for us and those whom we share life with.