Choosing Patience
/Update From Your Pastors
Hey church family! We are praying for you. We are reminded how God is faithful and will see us through this time! We praise God for His mercy and care for us as a church.
As we continue our countywide quarantine, we want to let you know how much we miss seeing you in person. Hopefully, these guidelines will be lifted sooner than later so we can once again meet together for worship. In the meantime, let’s continue to encourage one another through text, phone calls, and video chat. You may never know the encouragement you may be just by picking up the phone to say hello to someone. Let’s stay committed to loving one another during these unique times.
We also want to thank many of you for keeping your giving strong through this difficult time. Please let us remind you that your giving matters, and it touches many lives. Our church cannot continue its ministry to the community without committed church members giving. If you are not currently giving, please go to wellingchurch.com to begin today!
Thank you for remaining faithful during these uncertain times.
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Prayer Points
Joe and Sally, as Joe has been very unwell from issues surrounding having only one kidney.
Sean’s nephew, Noah, who went into hospital with breathing problems and a high fever.
For the Pastors of Welling Church, as they minister to us through this difficult time.
Ministry Opportunity
This week we want to do something different, and we hope you can all be apart of it.
We want to begin sharing videos of you during our Sunday morning online church. Please record a video that is less than 1 minute long answering this question: “What brings me joy about my church?
Upload your video to this dropbox link.
Weekly Devotional
The Fruit of the Spirit: PATIENCE
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22, 23
The fourth characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is Patience. Some say that patience is a virtue, but it certainly does not always feel that way. All you need to do is stand in a long queue at the shop to understand how difficult it is to be patient. Having to wait more than a couple of seconds for that video to load, waiting traffic to move again or realising that your Amazon Prime order is going to be delayed infuriates us. We get angry in the waiting, but what if waiting is exactly what God wants us to do? What if He pushes the pause button on life to accomplish something valuable? Isaiah has a few important truths to reveal to us about patience.
1. God Teaches Us About Him in the Waiting (Isaiah 40:28)
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
We are often tempted to think that God does not care or is unaware of our troubling circumstances. Our God is all-knowing, ever-present, and can never be unaware of what troubles us. Though we may not know why God is seemingly waiting to answer our prayers, He has His perfect timing. The two questions Isaiah asks could be paraphrased, “Surely you have heard and you remember the greatness of God!” When we have to wait, we begin to question God and forget His greatness. We then begin to also forget all that we’ve learned about Him. God is not holding back an answer because He has lost His strength or become weary. He may be waiting to teach us to trust Him more. Let’s take a look at how Peter addresses this thought in 2 Peter 3:8, 9. In the waiting, God is teaching and reminding us that He is in control and His strength is immeasurable. Trust in His ways and you will see the reason behind this season of life. We might think God is moving slowly, but rest assure that He is seeking to teach us in the waiting.
2. God Strengthens Us in the Waiting (Isaiah 40:29)
29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
We should all remember that even when we are in a time of waiting, we are not alone. The temptation to give up or lose hope during a trail can be great. God promises to give us power in our weakness and increase our strength when we feel powerless. Sometimes God brings trails into our life to keep us humble. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 and let's take a look at how Paul describes how he learned to deal with problems is life. We should learn to embrace our trails because they are the tool that brings us closer to God. He does not leave us in times of trouble, but draws near to us in the waiting to give us strength.
3. God Renews Us in the Waiting (Isaiah 40:30, 31)
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for 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.
The times in which we are living can be very exhausting. Worry, anxiety, and wondering if this pandemic will end crowd our minds. Now, more than ever, we feel powerless. Don’t get overwhelmed with feeling powerless because you truly are without power apart from God. In our exhaustion, we truly learn to rely on God. The strongest amongst us will still eventually become physically tired. In the waiting, God wants us to remember that it is His strength alone that renews us. Instead of trying to rush through times of waiting, we should pause and focus on the lessons God intends to teach us. Look at how James says we should think about times of trail in James 1:2-4. It seems strange to find joy in the waiting, but joy comes from knowing that trails produce a stronger faith. It is in the waiting where God can renew us. We should not resist trails, but embrace them knowing that they are the very place in which the Lord shall renew our strength.
Questions to Consider
Am I trusting God in times waiting?
Am I seeking strength in my own power or through God who has all strength?
Am I trying to force doors open are am I waiting for God to create a way through my problems?
