Patience Possess Your Soul
βIn your patienceyou possess your soul.β Luke 21:19 NKJV
I read the words again. My online reader lets me click a word and do a search in the concordance β so I did. Christ died so that I might live, so how could I do anything to βpossessβ my soul? I do nothing because He did it all.
That was my mindset for too long. Christ did all the heavy lifting and I was expected to live in all that He provided with joyful exuberance. I said the right things. I read the right books. I even attended the right classes.
βIn your patience . . .β
For the last several months, patience has continued to haunt my studies. More research showed me that patience was not just sitting around waiting. It is a hope that pushes me to have CHEERFUL endurance and constancy. That requires more effort than just sitting around waiting.
I read the passage again β replacing βpatienceβ with my new definition. βIn your hope that pushes you to have cheerful endurance and constancy in your journey, you possess (own, control, dominate) your soul (spirit).β
My part is to keep doing what I have been led to do β with cheerful endurance and constancy. Christ did His part and the gift sits there waiting for me. I have to do my part to live boldly in the abundance of that gift.
Tips for Developing Cheerful Endurance
1. Have a sense of humor.
The moment I started writing this article, every child in my house needed me. The bacon smoked up the house. The eggs (that my middle son was cooking) required the guidance of a more seasoned cook . . . me. I had to laugh that even writing an article about patience required me to practice patience.
2. It is not just waiting.
Although patience often involves some form of waiting, there are still things that have to be done while waiting. Even a pregnant woman does not get to sit around for nine months just waiting. She has to change how she does things. She has to adjust how she eats. She has to moderate or modify her activities. There are actions that are taken even in the waiting.
3. Keep the right focus.
In the end, it all comes back to Christ. If I am looking to Him for my directions β even the directions that say to have patience β then I will find the cheerful endurance and constancy to follow.
Developing the Soul Possessing Patience
It’s a choice. Each day I have to choose to do what needs to be done, say what needs to be said, and invest in the things that will help me create soul-possessing patience.
Most days, it won’t be easy, even if it is simple because it is about choice.
Many days, it will not be fun, but joy that comes from peace isn’t about rollercoasters and confetti – it’s deeper and more powerful and much longer lasting.
And some days, it won’t be the choice I want to make, but it is the choice that makes the difference in my life and in the world around me.
Develop your patience. Through your patience, you will discover that you can face it all.
Are you looking to build more patience in your life? Investing daily in the Word will provide the firm foundation for growing up your soul-possessing patience. Order your print copy of 90 Days through the Bible from Amazon or purchase your digital download HERE.
Bless your heart. May we all live in His patience. Patient endurance. Cheerful endurance and constancy. I pray your encouragement and wisdom will bless many as it has blessed me. I especially pray for you Kathryn and your commitment to motherhood. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in Jesus name. I invite you to visit my website and listen to my music. I hope it blesses you as you have blessed me. π
http://www.micheleacito.com
Thank you so much for stopping by Michele. I love the guitar in your songs – and your words are very touching. You are a beautiful woman with a beautiful message. May you and your ministry be blessed!
So the fear of God inspires patience. And what comes of being patient? By your patience possess your souls. There are two options here. Either we possess our souls by our patience, or our souls get possessed by the spirit of impatience. And that spirit leads to other things that can possess our souls.