Focus Grasshopper

"Focus, Grasshopper."

I say it all of the time. To myself, to others, it doesn't matter- I just say it. I think I might have picked it up from my dad over the years. But, alas! I am the queen of giving good advice, but not letting it soak in to my own brain. . .

Dilemma.


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,"
                                                                                                                             (Ephesians 1:3 ESV)



"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

                                                                                                                  (Galatians 5:22-24 ESV)

These verses changed my view on the quick plea for patience that all Americans, whether saved or not, seem to whisper under their breath on a daily basis, "Lord, give me patience." Why do we pray for something we have already been blessed with? Are we denying the fact that God has already given it to us as His children? Do we call our Father a liar? Of course not, but it sure changes the way we think...
I am struggling to utilize my patience lately. Lord knows it's buried in my heart SOMEWHERE. Sometimes it's more prominent than others, but certain situations seem to scare it off. Patience seems to be a virtue much like a language- "if you don't use it you start to lose it." It seems to become dormant for certain situations, and when my patience goes dormant, my flesh shows up. . . and shows off. It jumps at every chance to act, speak, and dominate. All of these factors are under my control; I am certainly no puppet. However, the wicked desires of my heart overtake any ounce of discipline I have attained.
After reading Luke chapter four this morning before work, I was refreshed in my heart to read of Christ's temptations in the desert. Even the perfect Savior was tempted- and the devil had to make an EFFORT to tempt him. (And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Luke 4:13 ESV) The devil may have control over the temptation, but we have control over our responses. Like Jesus, we should be bringing ourselves under the control and discipline of God's Word. Christ responded to every temptation with the Word. And just sitting here thinking about it- I am willing to bet Satan's temptations were probably enticing to Christ. For example, Satan offered Christ the world- all of the kingdoms the Prince of Darkness had been given dominion over. I can imagine Christ, looking out upon all of the world, considering the fact that this dark, deceitful liar OWNED it all. I wonder, oh how I wonder, how did Christ's flesh react to that??? Was it hard for Him to resist? I certainly do not know, however, I do know one thing. Christ responded to Satan's petition with Scripture, warding off the sin of impatience and focused on God's promises to come. Christ showed patience in that situation. He could have accepted Satan's offer and had the whole world under His physical control again. However, He knew that His Father was carrying out a perfect will and in the end, the victory would be His and the world won over once and for all as HIS kingdom. Good things come to those who wait...

So I take this as a lesson in patience. Even though I am currently in the midst of a situation where I can see something seemingly so good in front of me, I can hear the whisper of the Spirit telling me to, "Wait patiently." I could jump the gun and ignore Him, but I have done that before, and that fleshly decision has gotten me nowhere but backwards and chained at the ankles. This time, I realize that I DO NOT know what's best for me, but my Father does. He has the hindsight that I haven't yet gained. He has a plan for me. It can only get better as I wait on the Lord, as He breaks me and molds me into the child He created me to be, I will follow in the steps of His will.
In the mean time, as I lay in bed awake, I pray that He will fill my heart with hope and encouragement. Learning how to bring your flesh under the control of discipline through His Word isn't easy. And there's no way to butter it up- sometimes, it just sucks. But, boy does it pay off. I know it does, even amidst failing my pursuit of discipline and patience, I have experienced its GREAT rewards. How much better will it get as I continue this race?!
My soul is currently restless. My mind is reeling. But my heart is nevertheless in pursuit of the heart of the very One who created me. I pray that He will continue to teach me how to make less of myself and much of Him.

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and he will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

_______________________________________________________________________________

Love in Christ, 

Laura