Grace to you & peace from God our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Proving Your Patience” is July 11th’s entry from Dr. David Jeremiah’s ‘Walking with God: 365 Daily Devotions’.
"The testing of your faith produces patience." James 1:3
In our culture, the concept of testing immediately brings school days to mind. From the first grade on, we got used to the sweaty palms that accompanied the words “Clear your desk and take out a pencil.” If we were well prepared, the test was an affirmation. If we were poorly prepared, the test was a rebuke-gentle or severe, depending on the grade.
Tests didn’t end on graduation day, however. God has tests for us as well, like this one: “Describe nine ways to know if you are filled with the Holy Spirit.” The answer is whether we manifest the nine dimensions of the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23, they are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.
Consider patience, for instance. God allows us to experience times that test our patience in order to show us whether we are relying on ourselves or on the Holy Spirit. The more we are tested, the more evidence we have of the kind of power we are relying on-our own or the Spirit’s. And the more opportunities we have to say. “Fill me with Your presence, Holy Spirit, that I may manifest patience in this situation.”
If you are tested today, don’t fail by relying on yourself. Let tests become affirmations of your reliance on the Holy Spirit in you.
To end a quote from John Calvin, “Hope is the foundation of patience.”
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
