dec 9 devotional

December 9:  1 Peter 3:14  …regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.   My aunt once gave various family members a card with our name, the meaning of our name, and a biblical verse on it, entitled “your life verse”. Mine was Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. It was not a verse that I would have chosen, and in fact I remember groaning when I saw it and immediately looked to compare mine with other members of the family. Since that time I have discovered that an extremely large portion of my life has been spent waiting. I would like to say that I have developed great patience from this experience. But, in fact, I have found that too often the opposite is true. So when the understanding of the patience of the Lord as salvation appears in the reading for the day, I once again groan and look for other verses. And yet waiting and patience is not something that is passive. By definition it means waiting will be lengthy, and one will need patience for a long time. It is the ability to be still and wait until the right time. Like a skilled musician who knows exactly when to join along in the music, the patience of the Lord will wait and listen while I go on for hours with my concerns. And when God knows I have said all that I can, God simply responds with a word or two (all I might be able to handle), and no more. And then God is still again, in patience, while I find my life upended.