Patience Like a Cat
“But when the
Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:
love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.”
Our cat, Gray-C is the greatest
example of patience I have ever seen.
Every morning she lies in front of our slider and watches the birds that
feed off our deck and the squirrels that slowly wander up. She crouches down
with only her eyes showing above the bottom of the slider. Nothing moves on her body; you can barely see
her breathe. She can stay there for a
very long time waiting for a squirrel or bird to come close enough to pounce on. Then she jumps against the glass like she
caught her prey. Of course the squirrel
just stands there looking at the cat and the game starts all over again.
You talk about patience; the next
morning there is Gray-C again, flattened out in front of the slider. She does this over and over, not catching
anything, but always patiently waiting.
Day after day she man’s her post and is always expecting.
This is what the Lord wants us to
be like. Day by day we should always be
expecting the Lord’s return and be patiently waiting. Not only that, but we need patience in our
ordinary lives. When we pray asking God for help in situations, we should wait
for his answer and not lose patience and decide we should take care of it ourselves.
Why is it so hard to be patient
with God? He has promised to be with us;
never leave us or forsake us and he never promises what he can’t come through
with. Galatians 5
tells us that God produces patience in us, but whether or not we use it is our
choice.
Do you use patience when a traffic
light seems to take too long to change?
How about when one of your kids comes home with a dent in your car; does
your patience keep you calm until you know what really happened? There are so many times in each day that your
patience will be tested.
Are you sick of snow, cold and
blowing wind? Be patient; eventually
spring will come and warmer weather will return with flowers blooming. God is the one who created our seasons and
they never fail.
When I think about the patience God
has for me and has had all my life, I am so amazed. How many times in my early years that I went
out on my own and made a mess of my life, yet He was patiently waiting for me
to turn it around. Where would I be
today if not for the love and patience of God?
Think again about the cat that
begins each day patiently waiting and expecting. Learn a lesson from her and never give up, because
one of these days, Jesus really will come back for us.
Patience has a great outcome as we
find in Isaiah 40:31 “But
those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with
wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not
faint.”
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