A Prayer to Choose Patience Even When We Want to Complain
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” - Romans 8:25
Read or Listen Below:
I could feel impatience beginning to brew while waiting for the outcome I’d been praying for. But I had finally started to learn better. The only place that giving in to impatience and grumbling ever got me was to a state of greater grumpiness. And that’s no fun. Considering I had been praying my way through a roller-coaster season of chronic back pain flare-ups, which landed me in bed every other week and forced me to miss out on the lives of the people I loved. Why would I want to make matters worse? Because, truly, it always felt worse when I’d let myself slip into a self-pity pit, even if I never let my complaints leave my lips.
On a Sunday in this specific season of struggle, when I was well enough to sit through church, the sermon slapped me straight across the face and into my soul. “You don’t need solutions, you need Jesus,” the pastor stated. And there it was. The answer I’d been praying for. I’d been pleading for relief, but I just needed more Jesus. In my discomfort, disappointment, and on the brink of despair, I needed more of his presence, his promises, and his peace. The hope and joy of Jesus. To fill me, fuel me, and flow out from me.
Have you felt tempted to complain amid less-than-ideal circumstances? Or given in to grumbling in a season of waiting on God to bring about positive change?
If so, you need more of Jesus, too. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stay hopeful for the good we pray will come to be. I came across a verse I’ve seen and read many times before, but I have always struggled with how to grasp the application part of it. These words tie together hope, patience, and joy in the Lord. It’s Romans 8:25, which is read in the Amplified Bible, but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure. This tells me that the hope that we hold opens the door to our eagerness, patience, and composure. Doesn’t that sound more fun than sulking in sadness, sorrow, and self-pity?
We don’t know if we will get what we want or hope for. But because God is always good and faithful, we know there will always be good. So hope is always justified and always worth it. Yes, there is always hope because our hope is ultimately in the unfailingly faithful God. Hope in him.
Jesus is where I placed more of my focus and hope in my hard season. He is where I have found more joy. He is who I praised the most. He is the one who replaced my impatient frustration with peaceful patience. It is our hope in him, our sturdy trust in his goodness always at work, that we can wait patiently, wait eagerly and excitedly, because there is joy in that hope. There is no joy in complaining or wishing things weren’t how they are. But there can be limitless joy in every hope-filled moment and season, even in less-than-ideal circumstances.
You may be facing a really difficult time or situation. But it is through our struggles—and always—that we need more Jesus. We need more hope in his goodness. We need more hope in him. When we choose hope, we will find more patience. And when we find more patience, we will see many more reasons to praise and so much more joy…in him.
Let’s Pray:
Lord God, my hope is in you. You are worthy of all my hope. However, I don’t always reflect on where my faith is grounded when I grumble or am tempted to complain. So, help me replace my complaints with praise. Help me remember more than solutions, I need more of you. More hope in your goodness. More hope in you. Lord, problems on earth are unavoidable, and I need more of you alone. Help me remember that I will find peace, patience, and joy in your presence and promises. Thank you for the eternal hope I always have… in you. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
Keri Eichberger is a Jesus-loving Kentucky girl. She is married to her best friend, Mike, and has a full house of five kids. After years of writing for an online audience, Keri became ordained through Southeast Christian Church, giving her life to full-time ministry. She is the author of Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes, and has a passion for sharing faith-filled encouragement through devotional writing. Connect with Keri at KeriEichberger.com or Instagram.
Related Resource: When Life Unravels: Biblical Strategies for Hard Seasons
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