PATIENCE 5 - Think about God's promises while you wait.

 Patience 5 - English files

Geduld 5 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:22-38)

This is one of the lesser well-known stories surrounding the Incarnation. Some people on the sidelines of Jesus’ birth—such as Herod and the population of Jerusalem men­tioned in Matthew 2:3—were taken off guard and seemed threatened by it.

But the two people introduced in this story were waiting for the event, recognized its significance and praised God for it. Among all their ancestors who’d spent their lives anti­ci­­pating the fulfillment of the promise, these two were given the privilege of seeing the Messiah with their own eyes.

Mary and Joseph went to the temple to dedicate their firstborn son to God (see Exodus 13:2 and Leviticus 12:8 for the instructions), and the Holy Spirit clearly arranged Simeon’s coinciding visit. Simeon was thrilled when his own personal promise came true that day. His prophecy was surely com­forting as well as alarming for Mary.

We’re told Anna was always in the temple, so she had a front row seat for the encounter with Simeon. She thanked God for what she’d seen and told others who were also waiting.

Lord, please help me to wait and also to tell people about what You’ve promised and have already done.

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PATIENCE 4 - Wait—as long as it takes!

Patience 4 - English file 

Geduld 4 - German file

Devotional Thoughts about David’s Wait to Become King

As Saul was the only other king of Israel in David’s lifetime, he may have compared himself to his predecessor and expected to have a similar ascent to the throne. If so, he was surely very disappointed

Saul’s gradual ruin grew out of his own increasing distance from God, but it was exacerbated by his envy and fear of David. As king, Saul was in a position to make David suffer, and he did so with a maniacal thoroughness that hardly gave him a chance to breathe.

Looking back at the story, we can see that God wasn’t ready for David to become king immediately, either. He used the persecution intended to destroy him to build his skills and character instead.

David’s personal history would have turned out very differently without his conviction that God’s choice must be respected, even at the cost of his own disadvantage. Otherwise he would surely have killed Saul at first opportunity.

The plaintive question “How long?” recurs over and over again in the Bible, especially in the Psalms and in Jeremiah’s prophecies. Waiting for the day when God will overturn injustice has always been painful. Lord, please help me trust You as I wait.

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PATIENCE 3 - Abram Tries to Shorten his Wait

Patience 3 - English files  

Geduld 3 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Abram’s Wait

Abram may have thought that since God had singled him out and led him to Canaan, He would immediately start building for him the family necessary as the base for the nation He’d promised to make—especially since Abram had gotten quite a late start at the age of 75.

But it didn’t happen that way. As year after year went by, there was no pregnancy, no child. Whenever Abram and Sarai thought or talked about it, questions must have plagued them: “Where’s the child?”, “Isn’t God going to make good on His promise?” and “Did we just imagine it all?”

It’s interesting that Sarai was the one who came up with the idea of a surrogate mother, because the practical reality turned out to be intolerable for her as well as for Hagar. The family lived on in discord, and the child in their midst was not the progenitor of the promised nation.

One year out, God changed their names, instituted circumcision and spoke concretely of the coming baby, even naming him Isaac. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed, unable to imagine the fulfilling of their dreams at this late date. But sure enough, Isaac was born at the promised time, and they laughed for joy.

By the time God directed that Isaac be sacrificed, Abraham seemed to have learned enough through his waiting to be able to trust that God would care for the implica­tions of His promise (see Hebrews 11:18,19), and of course He did.

We humans hate waiting and are slow to see its benefits in our lives and in the circumstances around us. Lord, please help me to trust You and to wait for Your help.

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PATIENCE 2 - Keeping at a task for a long time builds patience.

Patience 2 - English files 

Geduld 2 - German files 

Devotional Thoughts about Moses

In the Book of James it says that enduring trials yields patience (1:2-4). Moses’ life was full of trials, even after he had waited 40 years to begin fulfilling his calling. Pha­raoh was obstinate, and the people were immature, venting their dissatisfaction to Moses through habitual complaining and rebellion.

Moses interceded after the golden calf debacle, requesting that his own name be deleted from God’s book if He was unwilling to forgive the people (Exodus 32:31,32). When the people threatened to stone Moses and his brother Aaron to death at another critical point, God offered to make a new nation with Moses, who pleaded with Him to forgive the people yet again (see Numbers Chapters 13 and14).

Moses’ experience with God was amazing. He wanted to see God’s face, and while that wasn’t granted, he was given the opportunity to see God’s glory pass by, which made his own face shine even later (see Exodus 33:18-21; 34:29-35). Read the last few verses of Deutero­nomy (34:10-12) for a brief summary of his legacy.

Still, even Moses was a sinner who struggled with his temper and lashed out in vexation and unbelief. Psalm 90, written by him, emphasizes the brevity of human life, which is cut short by death, the just penalty for sin. (See Romans 6.23.) He ends the psalm with a prayer for undeserved forgiveness and restoration from God.

Lord, please help me to “number my days” and “apply my heart to wisdom”, as the psalm says (vs 12).

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