Too much to do + not enough time = IMPATIENCE

Maybe you are like me. I have an 18-month-old son, a husband, a home, a full-time job and three part-time jobs ( just FYI ~ I'm doing the PT jobs to get us to the place where I can stay home with my son and two of them I would like to continue once I do that!). I've got a lot on my plate like so many women do these days. So when I was preparing for this teaching and felt led to go in the direction of developing patience by SLOWING DOWN, my first thought was, "Are you KIDDING me?!!?!!" Just for the record, no, God wasn't kidding me! Too much to do + not enough time = IMPATIENCE…with spouse, kids, waiter, clerk, even the gosh-darn computer connection!! Read this excerpt from "Character Makeover" by Dr. Katie Brazelton and see if this sounds like your life:

You leap out of bed, zip in and out of the shower, bolt down your breakfast, gulp down your coffee and rush off to work. Your boss tells you to hustle on that report, get in gear on those changes and step on it to complete that project. You dash out to lunch where you wolf down a sandwich, hurry back to the office, dash off some emails, whip through your voice mails and get cracking on those assignments. At five, you hotfoot it out of there, race home in rush-hour traffic, and dart in the front door. You throw dinner on the table, run through everyone's report about their day, scramble to get the kids to their lessons and fall into bed after doing instant messaging and paying some bills on Quicken. And at night you pray, "Lord, I need patience, and I need it now!"

Sound vaguely familiar? Then read on, my friend!

The tendency of those of us that are DOERS, those that have to make something happen if it isn’t happening fast enough, is to JUMP THE GUN. Our motto is: Don’t just stand there; do something …anything! Perhaps God wants our motto to be:Don’t just do something; Stand there!

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret.

*Let God move in His timing ~ WITHOUT your help

*Trust that where you are is EXACTLY where He wants you to be for now

*Proverbs 16:9 ~ The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps. MacArthur states that “God’s sovereignty overrules the plans of men to fulfill His purposes”

*Proverbs 3:5-6 ~ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean unto your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

When we trust and acknowledge Him as Lord, He will direct our paths. But we shouldn’t then look up and shout, “Lord, what in the world am I doing HERE????!!!” Trust His Sovereignty and His plan and do not go out and make your own way unless you want a mess!

Feeling antsy about a decision or problem that seems to go unnoticed by God?

Step 1: Stand still ~ you won't get clear instructions when you are moving at a break-neck pace

Step 2: PRAY!

Step 3: Surrender your will to His = peace ~ Hand over the map and the compass to Him and let Him navigate

Step 4: Worship ~ He knows what He's doing and is a big enough God to make a way

Step 5: Relax ~ keep doing what He last told you to do until He tells you to do something different

Step 6: Move when and where He leads

So this is a real challenge to those of us that like to MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! But this is a vital lesson in patience. I pray that those of you who are like me will learn to slow down and then stand still. Pray for me too, won't you?