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Better to be patient than powerful. {Prov. 16:32}
I read these words one summer morning curled up in bed and I write them in my journal. I don’t understand at first why they resonate with me. After all, I don’t consider myself someone who grasps for power—at least not in the traditional sense.
But as I get up and begin to go about my day I realize I want power over certain things. I want to control how my day will go. I want people to like me. I want to do my work flawlessly. And to make sure that happens, I push. I try hard. I rush and hustle.
And all of this, I suddenly see, is different than patience. Because patience is about receiving. It’s about believing that everything will work out. It’s about resting in the shade of God’s love instead of toiling in the sun of striving.
But patience also requires giving up control, it means surrendering our perceived power. This is hard and scary for me. Yet it is also what our weary souls long for, what they are really hoping will be the outcome of all our efforts.
Patience isn’t just about time; it’s also about trust. It’s about saying, “I don’t have to be in control. I don’t have to hold the power because I know the One who does. And He is for me. He is always working on my behalf. And this means I don’t have to strive or reach for control.”
This is the true work of patience; not only to help us wait but to help us worship. To empty our hands and bend our knees and bow our heads. This is a wild, heart-freeing thing. Because what we want even more than to be in control is to be cared for by Someone who truly loves us.
I let out a sigh of relief as I realize all over again we are. We always have been. We forever will be. God is inviting us to see it even now, to believe it, to know it all the way to our bones. Waiting for us patiently.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
p.s. If you’re a fan of both patience and progress you’ll love The Do What You Can Plan {ebook}. You can find it at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
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I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
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