Having patience and things changing are two things I do not enjoy. Let me repeat that - DO NOT - enjoy. So I find it rather funny (in a very sarcastic, not really finding it at all funny, sort of way) that God made me wait until I was 41 to find the love of my life and get married. Then, on top of that, my wonderful husband lived in an entirely different state which meant my whole life had to change. Not only did I get a new marriage, but also a new family, new state, new city, new job, new church, new friends, new dog, new everything! Isn't God just hilarious! LOL :-D
I know that having patience and accepting change are things I need to work on. And will probably always need to work on. I'm a get 'er done kind of a girl and I like having a solid foundation/base. I LOVE adventure but I want to come home to the familiar.
I wonder how much the Israelites struggled with patience and change. I don't know how long it took for all 10 plagues in the book of Exodus to play out. I've heard some say it took 40 days and others say 10 months but no matter how long it took I bet there were some Israelites who were impatient. They were probably saying, really, really God. We have to go thru all this to get to what YOU promised. You are the one that came up with the idea to free us...why don't you just do it? Why do we have to keep toiling away - with things getting WORSE for us not better - when all you need to do is wipe out the Egyptians (which you could with one swipe of your hand) and set us free. Why is this taking so long?
I'm sure there were also some Israelites who were saying, uhmmm God, could we just forget it. Every time Moses asks for Pharaoh to let us go, Pharaoh makes things harder on us. I know I was miserable before but man, this stinks. I'll just go back to the familiar misery. If this is your plan, I'd like to see plan B.
What lessons was God teaching the Israelites thru the time of the Exodus. I'm sure patience, trust, accepting God's plan and perseverance were at the top of the list. The Israelites knew that everything was happening because God was directing it and yet, I'm sure there were doubters and impatient people and, let's just say it - whiners. Just like you and I can often times see God's plan in our lives and yet we grow impatient. Then we decide that perhaps having to change our lives in the way that God wants us to might cause us more pain than we'd like to endure so we go back to our familiar misery.
God wants all of our love and all of our trust and all of our faith and all of our patience and all of our perseverance. Even when things don't seem to be going according to plan, God is still in control and we need to do our part and trust him. Believe me, I KNOW it is easier said than done. Like I said earlier, having patience and things changing are two things I do not enjoy (present tense, so I'm still learning and growing).
If you are struggling in these areas, then tell God about it. He already knows so you're not really telling him anything new but pour your heart out to Him. He will listen and He will open His arms to hold you and comfort you. Your circumstances may not immediately improve but you will feel closer to the Lord. Think about it, whenever you totally pour our your heart to a friend, or your spouse or your pastor and make yourself vulnerable to them emotionally, you are bonded together in a deeper way. That's how it is with God. He may know what we are thinking and feeling but He wants us to tell Him about it and have that experience of a more intimate, bonded relationship with Him.
I am beyond blessed to be married to Nathan and to be a part of this family. I love where we live more and more and I have a great job with fun people to work with! I'm getting more involved in our church and am making new friends and Holly is the best dog ever :-D So even though I may dislike being patient and don't enjoy change, in the end, God's plan blessed me beyond what I could have ever imagined! Just think what He may have in store for you!!!
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