2 Corinthians 12: 11 I am acting like a
fool—but you have made me do it. You are the ones who ought to show your
approval of me. For even if I am nothing, I am in no way inferior to those very
special “apostles” of yours. 12 The many miracles and wonders that prove
that I am an apostle were performed among you with much patience. 13 How were you treated any
worse than the other churches, except that I did not bother you for financial
help? Please forgive me for being so unfair!
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Listening to his
plea did not feel comfortable. He listed all the things he had done for the
company but I was told to get rid of several people. “You have to make the hard
calls if you want to be in this position” were the sentiments of my peers and
other leaders.
- I sometimes took lessons from the impatient and applied them to other parts of my life.
- I sometimes looked at everything from the bottom line.
- I sometimes valued money over what was truly valuable.
Paul expressed his
concern that the people had turned away from the following of JESUS to listen
to others who may have been smooth talkers. Paul had performed many miracles
that people were witnessed to. Only GOD could have allowed the miracles he
performed, yet the people turned away. Paul started to get impatient.
My Observations
- When I get impatient, I have to turn back to GOD to ask “How come YOU are patient with me?”
- GOD wants me to serve others so I need to continue to ask HIM for patience.
- Looking at the progress of others can take my eyes off of the patience GOD wants me to have for them and myself.
“Have patience” is
easy to say but hard to follow. I mean, when times are fast paced or anxious or
stressful, using patience is the best thing to do, yet I found myself caught up
in quick solutions that may not work. GOD’s solutions sometimes don’t come
quick enough for me so I jump in with “my” plan, then I “tell” HIM to help “me”
with “my” plan.
GOD patiently says “No”
and guides me to a better plan. HE then shows me how impatient I have been with
others and wants me to take a deep breath and slow down. HE then says, “Be
patient with yourself so you can be patient with others.” This gives me the
permission to mess up big and know HE patiently loves me anyway. I am glad GOD
has patience with me and loves me dearly.
Challenge
- Why do you think the writer is so upset?
- Have you ever worked very hard on something and were met with criticism or been overlooked for a promotion or devalued in some way?
- Will you turn your thoughts to GOD who has shown you infinite patience and ask for a small dose of HIS patience so you can continue with your purpose today?
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