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Patience for the Promise

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Patience may be a virtue…but it is far from my greatest skill. Years ago, there was a study involving kids and marshmallows. The kids were told they could either eat the marshmallow -or- if they waited until the adult returned, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. The study was meant to establish the effect of patience had on success.

Needless to say…I would have eaten the marshmallow…second one be darned.

However, what I am learning as I follow God to the promises He has spoken over my life is that patience is very often a requirement. Think about it:

  • Abraham had to wait 25 years
  • Joseph had to wait 13 years
  • David had to wait 20 years

Think about God’s chosen people in the desert. He had already promised them the land that lay before them…all they had to do was fight for it. But, in Exodus 23:29, God lets them know, “I will not force them out of your way in one year. Otherwise, the land would be deserted, and wild animals would take over.”

Often, God calls us to a period of waiting before we see our promise.

  • Perhaps we are not ready
  • Perhaps those we lead are not ready
  • Perhaps the promise is not ready

Whatever the reason, we must trust that God will do what He said He will do…whether it takes a day or a lifetime.



Written by on March 12, 2012 and categorized under Impact, Individuality

Too Loaded Down to Listen

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We live in a busy world. Every day is a balancing act with:

  • jobs
  • family
  • friends
  • hobbies
  • ministry

It’s amazing we can squeeze it all in…let alone save time to just be still and hear the voice of God. It is so easy to fall into the trap of getting so busy doing FOR God that we aren’t taking the time to hear FROM God. When that happens, we inevitably begin to:

  • move in the wrong direction
  • give focus to the wrong things
  • operate under the wrong set of priorities

When Moses first spoke to Pharaoh about allowing the Israelites to take some time to worship God, his immediate response was, “Make these people work harder and keep them busy; then they will not have time to listen..” (Exodus 5:9 NCV). Our enemy still uses that tactic today. If he can keep us to busy to worship, he can load us down with so much stuff that we never have the strength to move forward.

Don’t let what you do for God take away from your time with God. Take an example from Jesus. He only did what he saw the Father doing. In order for that to happen, he had to steal away for quiet moments alone with God…away from the crowd…away from the distractions of ministry.

Don’t get so loaded down that you no longer take the time to just listen.



Written by on February 27, 2012 and categorized under Impact

Gotta Get There Together

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Have you ever been in a 3-legged race? I remember them well from growing up. One of your legs is tied to your partners leg and you run together trying to reach the finish line. The key word…TOGETHER. If you try to go separate directions…if one of you goes too fast or too slow…if you can’t find your rhythm and run TOGETHER…you’ll never make it.

Marriage is that same kind of partnership. The moment you say, “I do,” God works one of His greatest miracles…two become one. There is no longer a He and She…only a We. That “We” must work together, stay on the same page and in the same rhythm if they ever want to experience the fullness of God’s promise for their family.

God DOES have a promise for you family. And…if you put God at the center of your marriage…you WILL get there. BUT…you gotta get there together.



Written by on February 22, 2012 and categorized under Impact, Individuality

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