Dear Ones, Hope you had a great weekend! We had Confirmation Sunday plus a farewell to our Intern’s family who will be going to their first church in CA and greatly missed by all of us.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
When we look around us I think we would all say our culture is an instant gratification culture. We don’t want to wait but we want things now! Everything must be quick and efficient and convenient but that often means there are others that work tirelessly to provide that. Sadly, it is true often times in the church too, that we want quick ways to grow, and the latest tech advances but that is not necessarily how God works. He is patient and often makes us wait so he can produce good and lasting fruit in our lives.

Professor of theology and author, Kelly Kapic, writes about how God takes His time and He values love over efficiency. He is patient and deliberate and wants our dependence on Him, not self-made persons. We discover after we come to know the Lord we are not immediately freed from all our bad habits and faults for He looks not only at the outcome but the process of our growth. We were created and made for communion with God and He is not so interested in the speed of our growth but in our relationship with Him. He is purposeful and is patient as He takes His time. Just think how long it took for the children of Israel to reach the Promised Land. Productivity and efficiency aren’t the most important goals in life for we were created for relationship with the One who made us.

Just like in our children’s growth, we make mistakes and fail and the Lord responds to our need for help and asks us to rely on Him and seek His help. We all fall short and need His help as we learn to rely on Him more and more. Kelly reminds us that “our faith is not built on our own power or completeness but on the fact that God is trustworthy.” May it be the prayer of each of us reading this that He “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Phil.1:6

Challenge for today:  Pray for patience when your growth seems slow and trust that the Lord is the One who will bring it to completion.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy