If you read Matthew 20:1-16, you’ll see that its a parable about men being hired to work in a vineyard at various times of the day. The people who were hired last were paid first to prove a point to the others that everyone would receive the same payment no matter what time they were hired.

Those who were hired first wanted more. They wanted to see themselves as more valuable than others by being paid more instead of being thankful that God is simply good and gracious to all. What is this inclination in many to want to be valued and validated above another instead of simply accepting the goodness of God?

It really isn’t about us, but about the kingdom of God. The below scriptures sum up the attitude we ought to have, and that is a child-like humility:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. – Matthew 18:1-5

In the below text, the disciples were embarrassed to share with Jesus what they were arguing about probably because they knew they had the wrong motive:

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” – Mark 9:33-35

They’d been arguing about who was the greatest in the kingdom of God. Jesus, knowing what they chatted about, begun to correct them sharing that a desire to be great must be converted into humility. We have to be willing to be in last place and to become the servant of all. Then Jesus went on to share the example of being like a child again. It’s okay to desire to be great, but the greatest will be your most humble. It will be the person who is thankful to belong to the Lord and to be counted as a son or daughter of God who will be great; not the person who looks to compare himself to others and desires to one-up the ones he’s compared himself to.
Let’s keep that child-like humility even being willing to look foolish and come in last place at times. This is the culture of the kingdom that God desires for us.

Recently, I’d been stressed with moving, family in the hospital sick, and the everyday hustle and bustle of life. I was glad I’d planned a vacation for my birthday month, March. As I was driving in California, I had ample opportunity to look at the mountains. I felt like God was reminding me of his Word, thus speaking to me through the mountains. As the scripture says, God’s creation testifies of his glory:

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. – Romans 1:20

I’d been getting calls from my mom while out of town showing that she was on the cusp of an emotional breakdown. Then I got word that it happened and she was going back into the hospital for it. So, now both parents are in the hospital, along with having to take care of the normal things of life. I had to shift my mind and thinking while out of town so that I would not walk in anxiety and fear concerning all of what was going on.

Every time I saw the mountain, I’d speak God’s Word about how having faith as a grain of mustard seed would allow me to move a mountain. I was also encouraged that man-kind has authority of the mountains. I was reminded of this by seeing houses built on top of mountains. Houses are homes which are places of safety, security, rest, and peace. Do you mean to tell me that we can go through a mountainous time in life and still have our peace, security, rest, and safety? How Sway? Through faith and God’s grace.

Faith in Christ and his Word is how we navigate the mountain-like hard places of life. As I continued to drive and drive the mountains seemed so long and unending. There were ranges of mountains. Sometimes, we reach such a hard and draining place in life that it seems there will be no end to the hard place, but faith in Christ and his grace for us will cause us to get through the mountain-like hard experience.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I’ve started to see hard places in life differently after the last series of trials, I’d endured. Even though I still feel the realness of the situation; I also have a greater expectation of where God is in this and what He is saying? I simply know that the Lord is with me empowering me to get through the mountain, live on the mountain, or to remove the mountain completely by faith.

Below are some scriptures, I’ve meditated on while studying in my devotional time about mountains, how they are formed, and what they represent as found in scripture:​God has authority over the mountains and any mountain-like experiences we encounter in life:
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord before the Lord of all the earth. – Psalms 97:5
I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. – Isaiah 49:11
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. – Psalms 95:4
Who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength. – Psalms 65:6

The Mountains represent a place of display. God often uses mountain-like experiences in our lives to display his glory:
I will spread your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains. – Ezekiel 6:2

Mountains represent Might. God is Almighty:
In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. – Isaiah 2:2
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord/ Who may stand in his holy place? Psalms 24:3
I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. – Psalms 3:4

The mountains can be seen as a place of refuge:
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. – Psalms 125:2
Mountains can be seen as obstacles to overcome:
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20
People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains. – Job 24:8​So, when a mountain-like hard place shows up in your life; do not be intimidated by it. Do not wallow in fear and anxiety at all. Shift your thinking on the Word of God and his promises. Go through the mountain-like experience with God’s grace and faith knowing that He has authority over the situation and that you can live in that experience with peace, safety, and security with God as your refuge. He is Almighty and has authority over your situation. Trust him.

The small steps of faith are those steps that may not seem like they’ll have as much impact, but they are necessary to keep us moving forward instead of trapping ourselves in the lie that we will simply wait, doing nothing, and things will turn out as we expect.

I was speaking with a client of mine regarding a business she wants to start. Her thing was that she had not gotten her license yet for the skill-set she’d gone to school for and that kept her from stepping out in faith to start that business. So, of course, I asked her what she was doing to get the money to pay for the license and she said she was believing God for it.

It is good to believe God for things, but our faith in God still requires action verifying that we actually do believe.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. – James 2:14-17 (NIV)

​It’s so easy to get caught up in the thought of just believing God for something, but when we truly believe God for something, we take action. I shared with her how I’d been believing God to purchase either a condo or a townhouse, and I wanted to pay a specific dollar amount for it. I’d been looking for two years and hadn’t seen anything I liked.

One day, at work, it seemed as if God spoke to me saying, “Check the website again.” There was a particular website I’d look on for a condo or townhouse and I had not looked in a while. I checked the website and looked within the range I wanted to spend. I did not see anything I liked. I felt like I was led to raise the price range to show more houses on the market. I saw one I wanted listed for $23,000 more than I wanted to pay. I called a realtor to show it to me and immediately began placing an offer to the seller. The seller and I went back and forth and finally agreed to sell the house to me for $15,000 over what I wanted to pay.

I’d learned of a $15,000 forgivable loan program, which is basically free money toward my purchase with no interest. The plan was to apply for this program and I’d get the condo for what I initially wanted to pay. I explained to my client how a prerequisite for applying for the program was for me to already have a contract in place. Had I not been moving in faith already, I never would have gotten the grant. I explained how when we move in faith; we attract God’s favor to our lives.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)

End of story. I got the condo for what I originally wanted to pay because I got the grant that knocked $15,000 off of the principal. You see, faith continues to move forward when the end isn’t clear or there appears to be an obstacle. 

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. – 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 (NIV)

Had I stopped when I saw the listing $23,000 over what I wanted to pay, I would not have gotten the blessing. Even though I did not know whether a grant would be available or not prior to placing a contract on the property, I moved forward anyway in faith that if I got the grant, I’d be taken care of, and if I did not get the grant, I’d still be taken care of because God is my provider, and he’s been providing for me. These types of experiences build our faith and cause us to take even more action for the next opportunity that God places before us.

For my single brothers and sisters out there desiring to be married; keep treating yourself like you’re worth it. Keep obeying God, and being beautiful inside and out. Don’t allow bitterness to steal your true beauty. You may not see how it will work itself out, but God does and you will see it if you remain in faith.

Keep going out and about to experience various places and new experiences in expectation of God’s goodness. Keep enjoying life and allowing God’s love to shine inside of you. God will meet you at your level of faith in him.

Joseph wasn’t the only one forced to live with pain for a season. Jacob, Joseph’s father, was also forced to live with pain. He’d experienced loss for an extended period of time—the loss of his son Joseph. This incident was completely outside of Jacob’s control. However, he was forced to live with unanswered questions. What exactly happened to my boy? What if I had not sent him to his brothers? Would he still be alive? Did I do enough to protect him?

He’d also lost his wife, Rachel, mother of his son Joseph. The only child he had left of his wife was Benjamin. Jacob had to pass the test of living with loss. Would he trust God enough to still be okay if he’d loss Benjamin too? This was the test being presented to him from his sons when they shared with him that the overseer in Egypt, who was Joseph, unknown to Jacob’s sons, had requested for Jacob’s son’s to bring their youngest brother back with them to Egypt or else one of their brothers, Simeon, would not be released from prison. Joseph had accused the brothers of being spies and the only way they’d prove they weren’t would be to bring the youngest, “Benjamin.”

Jacob shares the below words as he battled within himself over whether he could open himself up again in such a way as not to hold too tightly his last remnant of his wife Rachel which was his son Benjamin.:

But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.” – Genesis 42:38 (NIV)

Sometimes when we’ve dealt with pain for so long, the questioning, the why, the how can I prevent this again because it hurts; we fail to move in faith again. We get stuck, and immobile. We put up protective mechanisms that shield us from our fears instead of moving in faith. These are some of the things that even Jacob, one of the fathers of the faith, struggled with.

However, when Jacob finally agreed to resolve the fact that yes he had been through the pain of loss, and he turned out okay, and if it happened again to his son Benjamin, he’d still be okay because his comfort, trust, and joy of life is not in things always being comfortable and/or avoiding loss; it’s in God. The God of his fathers Abraham, and Issac. This is a point that we have to get to in our trusting the Lord. Our trust in the Lord has to be beyond the pain of our circumstance.

Jacob began to move in faith again, once he became resolved. His moving in faith was sheer evidence of his inner resolve that he had come to. Look at what Jacob says below:

Then their father Israel said to them, “if it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved. – Genesis 43:11, 43:14 (NIV)

Little did Jacob know, his inner resolve, and actions in faith to send his beloved Benjamin to Egypt would result in the reviving of his spirit. To revive means to restore to life or consciousness. Some synonyms for revive are below:

resuscitate, bring round, bring to life, bring someone back to their senses, bring back from the edge of death (Google Dictionary.)
I don’t know if any of my readers have ever been in a state of grief, loss, or depression where it has felt as if you’ve experienced a death, but there comes a time where God will allow our spirits to be revived. As many of us are aware, there was a great ending to this story. Benjamin was bought to Egypt, and Joseph revealed himself. Joseph sent his brothers back with great caravans and provision to bring his father’s entire household to live with him in Egypt. Jacob could hardly believe it when he heard it. That’s how unreal it was.

The Bible says that Jacob’s spirit was “Revived” when he saw the great carts Joseph had sent back with them:

But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” – Genesis 45: 27-28

Joseph was not the only one who was forgetting his pain. God was moving on Jacob’s behalf to cause him to forget his pain. What can we learn from this story?

We see that even though hard circumstance in life can stop us; we have a choice to press past the fear of only experiencing sorrow and loss in our lives. We have to make up in our minds to continue in faith in spite of.

Also, we see that God used the father, Jacob, and his son’s need to bring things full circle. If they had not had the famine; they would have never been reconciled with their brother. It was their need for food that drove them outside of their comfort zone to get what they needed and what God had intended for them to have all along. That was reconciliation with their brother and for Jacob with his son as well as provision.

Finally, we have to choose not to live in the fear of loss or things getting worse; instead, we need to come to a resolve of trusting God no matter what happens. In doing so, we will find that no matter what happens; we will be okay, and we too will experience the reviving of our spirits like Jacob and Joseph.

We can create our own negative cycles through the way that we think. We can begin to expect negative as a norm after experiencing negative for so long. We have to intentionally shift our thinking to be bold in knowing that God is for us and that he allows situations in our lives to prepare us for the good that he has for us.

This happened with Joseph, who was sold into slavery, mocked, ridiculed, lied on, and treated poorly by his own family as well as others he’d trusted. However, God is clearly seen working in the middle of Joseph’s situation. He used everything to position Joseph for his purpose.

Joseph had been strategically positioned to interpret Pharoah’s dream placing him immediately in a position of authority, securing his wife given to him from the Pharoah who’s dream he’d interpreted. This led to his children and the revelations by God of him being able to forget his suffering, and become double fruitful. Finally, it reunited him with his father, brothers, and their extended family. God’s plan is always far more than what we can see and realize. We just have to trust him along the way.

My late pastor, Dr. Angie Ray, used to always say, “God will create a situation to bless you.” This is just what God did with Joseph. We know the story. He interpreted the dream of the Pharoah, who promoted him right afterward. On the outside looking in, we can easily praise God and shout about the ending, but Joseph was not aware of the ending altogether while he was going through it. Sure, he saw bits and pieces in a dream God had given him as a child, but he did not have the full interpretation until later. He had to walk by faith through it all. It was a painful experience for him. It is the same way with us. God will show us bits and pieces of what he is doing–giving us enough strength to go on continuing in hope.

​For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. – 2 Corinthians 13:9-12

Joseph had his first child. He named him Manasseh meaning causing to forget. Joseph said just after naming his son Manasseh, “For God said he has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house. There had been pain over his situation with his family that God was allowing him to forget. However, God is not just a God who makes us forget our pain, but he also brings restoration regarding what has been broken causing our pain. We will discuss this next week.

Joseph had a second son whom he named Ephraim. Ephraim means double or doubly fruitful. Do you remember after Job went through his pain, he was blessed with double? I believe God loves us so much that he gives us reminders that he is still with us and for us even in spite of experiencing much trouble. Real-talk, we can easily forget that God is good in trouble, but trouble is where we see God’s faithfulness the most.

I’m writing this post to encourage us, as many of us have gone through hard times, or maybe some of us are still in hard times right now. Things will not always be like what we’ve experienced. There will come a time of forgetting our pain and trouble. There will come a time of fruitfulness and restoration. There will come a time where we are double or even triple blessed. We have to keep believing that God is good and that he has good for us.

Many are leaving the church due to an offense, but our love walks have to grow with the pace or even beyond our interactions with others. An offense can be a catalyst to personal growth and maturity causing us to love in even the hardest of times. If we leave a church, relationship, or situation God has put us in too soon; we may, in turn, stifle our growth. This is why it is so important to be led by the Spirit of God.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that going to church or being a part of a small group with difficult or unreasonable people can be hard, but we have to still seek the Lord to see how he’d have us to respond to such a situation. I often say that if I was not saved prior to going to church; I would not be saved now by simply going to church. Thankfully, I had an intimate relationship with the Lord before I started going to church, so it was normal for me to seek the Lord about confusing things I’d experience in the church.

Sometimes, people have an unrealistic expectation of people who go to church–placing them on a pedal stool, or expecting perfection when, in reality, people are just people. People aren’t perfect. They do not know every appropriate way to act and react just because they are in the church. People are developing at various maturity levels and yes that includes pastors and leaders.

Sometimes God will send you to another church altogether to heal and other times he may require you to remain at your same church and heal in process of dealing with the offense. We will never know if we do not seek the Lord for ourselves. We will never seek the Lord for ourselves if we do not pursue our relationship with God outside of the church.

I remember the first church I joined at 17. It was a bit of a culture shock because what was experienced at church as far as the rules were so different than what I expected. Of course, the rules were man-made and not of God. I struggled with fitting in and if I was good enough to remain in the church at times.

I remember one night at a prayer conference not going to prayer during my assigned hour to pray because I was so upset that I’d just been accused of trying to get an older woman’s husband. The woman had accused me because she did not like the length of the skirt I had on. I spent the rest of the night asking people if my skirt was too short. I had gotten it from one of the ladies at the church. I thought I was fitting in. Finally, years later when it was my time to leave that church, the Lord started to deal with me about leaving. I ended up getting seen in the grocery store by my pastor wearing earrings. She later rebuked me when I went back to the church, and a couple weeks after that I’d finished the letter God had put on my heart to write to her and I left.

Of course, I was hurt because she was preaching to the congregation that I had backslid because I had the earrings on, but God had already dealt with me about leaving, and he was already leading me to another church to heal. I continued to pray for my former pastor, and of course, I forgave her. Later, the Lord bought reconciliation when I was assigned to manage her web page at a radio station I had interned at. That whole ordeal allowed me to grow in my love walk, forgive when uncomfortable, and give grace for reconciliation.

Without challenges with flawed people; we’d never have an opportunity to grow, or practice some of the primary tenants of our faith; such as forgiveness. Every time we experience something hard and God empowers us with the grace to forgive; it helps us to grow. We see ourselves as more receiving of grace when we see the need for it in others. It should remind us of what Christ did for us and how we need to continue to do that for one another. We need to be so rooted in Christ’s love, character, and his word that we willingly decide to endure and forbear where God calls us for our personal development and the development of others.

People become genuinely convicted when genuine love is shown. We cannot grow in our love walk if our love is never tested. Don’t always expect things to be comfortable with dealing with people. Church people are still people and thus are flawed. Learn to show grace, to forgive, and to love in spite of. Be led by the Spirit on whether you should stay at the church you’re at or leave for another.

​It is going to take humility to endure with patience. One, because patient endurance requires trust in Christ to avenge or resolve any wrongdoing done to us that provoked us. Although, the norm isn’t to be provoked to patience, but to fighting. We want to fight for our reputation when someone gets out of pocket lying or accusing us, but it takes discipline and humility to patiently endure remaining consistent in our character.

This is something the Lord is personally dealing with me on. It’s also something I noted from Michelle Obama’s book when media was painting her as an angry Black woman who was anti-American during her campaigning for her husband prior to the White house win; She was advised that the best way to respond was not to respond at all.

How many of us would be able to humble ourselves not to respond if the Holy Spirit told us not to do so? Not many would be willing if they had not already begun training themselves for humility.

In Psalms 35:13, David shares how he humbled his soul—mind, will, and, emotions, with fasting and prayer. In the whole chapter, he complains to the Lord about how these people that he prayed for treated him poorly as if he was an enemy. His response was not to defend himself but to entreat the Lord to defend him with fasting and prayer. Thus, we see that fasting and prayer is one way to protect our spirit and to cause us to walk in humility.

It causes us to hear the instruction of God more clearly, so we will know how to respond to any given situation. Recently, I’d been fasting and praying about somethings. I wanted to know how to settle and resolve a thing in my spirit. I needed to know how to respond to people with religious spirits, who accuse others such as myself without being prideful or responding in pride. ​​Below are some of the scriptures that came up in my spirit:

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. – Matthew 5:38-42

Don’t Respond on the Defense, but Learn to Trust God and Your Character to Defend You:
I’ve made up in my mind to no longer respond to the religious even in my mind. This is in line with the idea of being so humble that I realize I don’t have to defend myself. God will defend me, and my godly character will also provide a defense for me. Not focusing on the negative things said by religious accusers allows me to keep my mind clear to focus on what God is saying. It also allows me to avoid any self-fulfilling prophecies of the negative being said.

I will admit, I am not perfect at this. I’m learning and becoming disciplined in this area. The scriptures above speak about a level of humility that is rarely seen–allowing someone to mistreat us while trusting God to provide justice for us. I was reminded on this week, how our boy, “David” was tempted again to get back at someone who disrespected him. This time, it was a guy named Nabal. When David was on his way to recompense Nabal for what he did to him. God allowed Abigail, Nabal’s wife to intercede for her household preventing bloodshed. Later, that night, God killed Nabal and Nabal’s wife was given over to David. God ended up recompensing him. God will do the same with us if we do not allow ourselves to get out of the character of trusting in God.

When Teaching, Only Share What God Gives Me to Share. Don’t Respond to Accusers During Teachings:

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. – Galatians 5:18

There is a freedom that I can expect when being led by the Spirit instead of being drawn into the flesh through a fight with a religious person. It’s simply a distraction. I have to guard my mind, will, and emotions from distractions that would cause me to be in bondage to the laws of man. Every man has his own interpretation of the law and how things should go, but the Spirit of God is the one who gives the proper interpretation of his own Word. He wrote it.

 ​“Having too much respect for man’s opinion can lead to fear of man instead of fear for God which is a form of bondage.

There’s more than I’ve written in my journal regarding this, but this is enough information to get the drift that humility is required to navigate those who come against us in any way with negativity. The enemy could very well be using them to distract us, but if we are walking in the Spirit, we can dodge the distraction through patience and endurance.

I am still learning about this, and thus, God will probably send more tests my way to perfect this inside of me. This is why we should be thankful for tests not always wishing they would go away. They are here to refine us. Refine me Lord to the place of humility that you desire. Teach me how to be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.

To be wise means we see what’s going on clearly. To be harmless as a dove means we’ve made a conscious choice not to respond in a way that provokes war, distraction, and disturbance in our spirit. We maintain our balance of peace through patience, humility, and trusting in God to exonerate us.

How well do you protect your spirit? Recently, on my social media, I wrote about the importance of a quiet spirit. A quiet spirit is a spirit that lacks distraction and unnecessary noise. It’s a disposition of peace that allows us to hear God clearly, and to be more self-aware realizing what is going on within us. It also allows us to continuously move forward as we follow God’s leading. Without it, we have the potential to get stuck, delayed, or to lose control emotionally. Loss of emotional control can lead to poor decision making.

Did you know that patience is something that helps us to have a quiet and well-controlled spirit? I will discuss this a bit later in this post. Read the below scripture to see the danger of not having a well protected and controlled spirit.

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. – Proverbs 25:28

Lack of self-control over our spirit produces a danger for us making us more vulnerable to being overcome. When referencing our spirit in this article, I am talking about the invisible part of us which is our soul. Our mind, will, and emotions make up our soul.

Practicing patience is one of the key ways to rule over our own spirits. Patience meaning: “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. (Google Dictionary),” or “the ability to remain calm when dealing with a difficult or annoying situation, task, or person.” Could smart remarks from others or uncomfortable situations be producing patience within us if we discipline ourselves to respond with patience? Below are three scriptures that discuss the power that God placed within us for self-control and patience.

Luke 21:14 – Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer.

This speaks of our ability to practice self-control in what we meditate on. We can control how we respond to various situations. It also speaks to a leaning on God to show us how to respond. God instructs his disciples in the above scripture not to worry about what they will say in a nerve-wracking situation, but to look to him who will give them what to say. How often do we acknowledge God when confronted with words, or situations that make us uncomfortable or anxious concerning our response?

Luke 21:19 – In your patience possess your souls.

Jesus is speaking with his disciples about how it will be before Jesus comes back. He had warned about how it would be so bad that men’s hearts would fell them because of fear. In spite of a hard time, Jesus shared a clue on how his disciples could keep their minds, will, and emotions intact and that is through patience.

Remember patience is a way of practicing endurance without losing our cool. Endurance is a form of waiting through a thing that is difficult. It’s a way to forbear with the situation at hand and still maintain sobriety and self-control. This, of course, is going to require God’s grace to do so, but it can be done. We will talk about this more next week when we discuss protecting our spirit through humility.