Probably one of my biggest faults is that I like to talk without thinking. Not that I’m constantly sticking my foot in my mouth, but I do end up having to explain what I meant often enough that I know I could be better at this. And, at the risk of asking another question with the “Sunday School Answer,”

Who’s the best model to follow in this case?

Obviously, Jesus, who cautioned us, “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16)

I was reading in the gospels today of the various traps the teachers of the law tried to lay for Christ. “Where does your authority come from?” “Should we pay taxes to Caesar?” His replies were always smooth, calculated, and shrewd. They could not goad Him into sin, they could not even trap him into saying things that, while true, would have been harmful to say. Oh, if we could all be more like that, patiently contemplating our replies, careful to think before speaking. The world would be a much better place.

The old maxim is oh-so-relevant:

If you your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observe with care:
To whom you speak, of whom you speak,
And how, and when, and where.

I love how Proverbs is just crammed with one wise tidbit after another. If only I could remember them all, if only I could live by even a small fraction of them…

But that is not the point of this post! This week is Patience, and I’ve made you wait until Wednesday before I actually blogged about it. Maybe this is because I was distracted, or maybe it’s because my Bible has very few concordance entries for the word. But I digress. Today I opened my Bible to Hebrews chapter 11. It’s here that we normally end up thinking (or talking) about faith, but it’s amazing to think of how patient and persistent these people were. Abraham was 100 before he got his promised offspring! The underlying theme here: “All these people were still (patiently!) living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” (Heb 11:13a, NIV with a little of my love added in)

I’m afraid that patience is one of my weak suits. I want wisdom, answers, blessings, whatever, and I want it now! I hate to wait an extra 30 seconds at a stop light, I hate to wait for the microwave to finish reheating food, I hate to wait for the LORD.

God, please grant me patience.