Quiet Patience

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Scripture

Psa. 37:7        Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
        do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
        over those who carry out evil devices.

Observation

There is an admonition in this Psalm of David that speaks to our busy and frenzied lives. Slow down, be still, and wait with quiet patience for him.

Over and over again we have tried to articulate what we are being told in this passage. We are to rest and submit to the will of the LORD while we wait for his help.

We are to be still and with longing wait for the LORD.

We are to be silent and without complaint as we submissively rest in the Lord. This truly is quiet patience!

Application

Christy is our oldest daughter and when she was little she sometimes had a hard time taking a nap. She simply enjoyed being awake far too much and would rather talk or have us read a book to her than to miss out on something and go to sleep. To try and stay awake she would keep on moving and wiggling and the more she did that, eventually, the fussier she would get. She desperately needed sleep to feel better, but she intentionally was keeping herself from falling asleep. I learned that the best thing I could do for her was to take her in my arms and hold her tight. She would wriggle around but if I held her snug, eventually she would sigh a deep sigh, and then drop off to sleep. She needed to be still to be able to rest.

To be able to rest in the LORD, we need to slow down and stop moving. We need to close our mouths; no more complaining -- try spending a little time in silence. God will work things out in his time!

I think quiet patience may be one of the hardest things for us to practice in this day and age, but just as it was important for David, so it is for us.

Turn off the noise.

Stop wriggling!

Don’t do all the talking in prayer.

Be silent.

Listen in patience and there you will find God!

Prayer

Lord, please help me to slow down and hear you.  Amen.

Comments

  1. Barbara LeivangAugust 21, 2020 at 11:40 AM

    Great reflection! Complements what I am reading at the moment. Ephesians 4:2, the wording “quiet patience” in the translation I am reading caught my eye and after thinking about it for a moment, I decided to do a google search to see if other people interpreted it the same way. That’s how I landed on your blog post!

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