Skip to main content

Waiting Patiently

Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him, So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us— And it is best to learn this patience in our youth. -Lamentations 3:21-27 (GNT)

It's easy to praise God and spout all sorts of nice Christian platitudes when things are going our way; yet, it is quite another to patiently wait on the LORD when things aren't so wonderful. I have found that I grow the most in His grace when I am able to find the faith to wait patiently. His thoughts and ways are so much higher than mine are (as the Prophet Isaiah says) that it is imperative I strive to keep that in mind-- at all times. Oh how I wish I had learned patience in my youth!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A New Year of Possibilities!

2012 has arrived and with it (I hope and pray) a new attitude on my part and perhaps my wife's, as well.  I have resolved to surrender to my compulsive over-eating (which is ushering me toward insulin), get in better physical shape and get active in a Bible-based Church.  It has been a while since I have had a regular place of worship and I know it would do me a lot of good by bringing me closer to the Lord. Romans 8:28 King James Version (KJV)   28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

One Day At A Time

Early in sobriety everybody said "take it a day at a time" or "one day at a time."  Sometimes, it was 5 minutes at a time.  I sure thought I had a grasp on that concept back then!  Of course, being new, the focus was strictly on going another day without a drink or chemical substitute.  Today the focus tends to be more on confronting those many "faces of fear" I learned of.  I thought those faces existed only to haunt me; through my tenure in this fellowship, I have discovered they actually motivate me to move into a closer relationship with my Higher Power. I relish the spiritual enlightenment that comes with that. As the years advance, I have come to terms with another meaning of living a day at a time, one not so easily defined by words as it is through experience.  During my journey through sobriety, I have experienced many wonderful things, brought about by continually staying sober and gaining years on the planet. ...

IDENTIFY AND DON'T COMPARE

Many times over the years in meetings, I have heard people make the statement "identify and don't compare."  In the very beginning of my recovery, I thought it referred to substances that we were addicted to -- like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, booze,etc.  At that time, my alcoholic mind was focused solely on the substance as being responsible for my maladies, not me. As time progressed, I began to find other meanings for identification versus comparison.  As I have matured in sobriety, I have come to see the dangers of comparison. It is easy to find others more fortunate than myself, if I measure things only by outward appearances and fail to look inside.  For me, it is much harder to look at all the wonderful things I have and consider myself the more fortunate one (when in the midst of comparison). When I commence to devaluing my life through one of these self-pity motivated comparison sessions, I place myself in danger of picking up that next drink...