**Sip Saturday is written by our Saturday morning contributor, M.H. Elrich. A beautifully gifted Christian author who seeks to honor the Trinity in her writing. She hopes that her words will encourage women to draw closer to God, whether that is through her fantasy series or her weekly devotionals.
Cornerstone Scripture:
“When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years."
-Hebrews 3:9 KJV
“I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you!” the child teases, keeping his fingers inches from his friend.
His friend slaps away his hand. “Stop it!”
“Whattttt, I’m not doing anything!”
“Yes you are.”
“No you aren’t.”
“Yes you are.”
“No you aren’t.”
“STOP!” the adult roars. “BOTH OF YOU!”
The children whimper, but obey.
Have any of you witnessed these childish actions and lost your patience? Whether you were the one being teased or the adult stopping the children, you probably understand this scenario.
Sometimes, the pot boils, and even the most patient person loses their temper. Some of you may have read my imaginary scenario above and flinched at the sudden burst of anger. But I think all of us have times we regret. Patience seems easy on paper, but when life happens, patience can be difficult to exhibit.
The only person with infinite patience is God. Constantly, the Israelites grumbled against God, testing him over and over again. Yet, God patiently answered their pleas and navigated them through the wilderness.
Eventually, they were able to see the Promised Land. God kept his promise to them, endured their repeated misbehavior, and granted them his everyday presence through the cloud and fire.
So, whenever you feel like you can’t wait any longer, that this wilderness before you is too long; remember, God understands you.
He knows what it is like to experience righteous anger or a testing of one’s patience. He understands how hard it can be to wander the wilderness, as he was also tempted for forty days and nights in the same place (Matthew 4:1-11).
God will give you the patience you need to get through whatever situation you have ahead of you. Look back at all he has already done for you and trust that he will take care of it going forward.
Let’s pray.
Dear Lord, please do not let me be like the Israelites, grumbling and complaining, testing your patience for me. Instead, let me think back and praise you, trusting you to work in whatever situation you have for me. In Your Son’s Name, Amen.
I can so remember having these tyoe of situations with my siblings and my mother yelling at us to be quiet or go outside and play. Being the mother of one child I personally never had to deal with those type of scenarios but I understand them and how God works. Truly enjoyed this read... Amen 🙏🏾
Oh yes, the waters of Meribah. I can remember my brother and I crossing the imaginary line dividing the car we were sitting in. As always, thanks for your weekly post!