Shine Like Stars: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

An Attitude That Shines: God's stars are patient

You've probably noticed how shortsighted children are. "I want it now. Right now!" Thinking ahead is a learned behavior, a skill that needs to be taught. It is easy to live for right now. Drug or alcohol addictions and out-of-wedlock childbirths "happen" to people who just couldn't defer gratification to a later time.

God's ultimate gift to you is to let you live with him forever in heaven. But that wonderful destination can seem so remote as not to exist. Future thinking is an important skill that each of us needs to cultivate in our own hearts. St. Paul writes, "As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with . . . patience" (Colossians 3:12).

Waiting is not weakness. It comes from the serene confidence that God will keep all his promises, that our future is going to be way better than our past, and that God is managing all the events of our lives to get us to the finish line with our faith intact. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord!