Five Day Focus: Patience Day 4: Patience Equips Us for the Ministry of Parenting
Five Day Focus: Patience Day 4: Patience Equips Us for the Ministry
of Parenting
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
1We then, as workers
together with Him also
plead with you not to
receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:
Behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.
3 We
give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as
ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in
distresses, 5 in
stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in
fastings; 6 by
purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by
sincere love, 7 by
the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the
right hand and on the left, 8 by
honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and
behold we live; as chastened, and yet not
killed; 10 as
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having
nothing, and yet possessing
all things.
Colossians 1:9-12
9 For
this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,
and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding; 10 that
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in
the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened
with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and
longsuffering with joy; 12 giving
thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in the light.
2 Timothy 2:24
And the Lord's
servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently
enduring evil,
2 Corinthians 12:10
For the sake of
Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions,
and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Devotional:
I want to be in ministry. I want to be a constant
encouragement, I want to work to serve the Lord by serving others. It would be
my dream to spend all my time studying the Word, writing, speaking, writing
music, singing and creating Scripture art. Somehow, though, I got this idea in
my head that ministry had to look just that way. I think I thought that when I
entered into motherhood, I would gently guide my children in their way, and of
course pour into them, while still doing all the other things I want to do. I
just didn’t realize that in order to be the kind of mother that I want to be—that
I believe God called me to be—all my other desires and goals would be so
completely secondary.
Working to serve my family has become a very important focus
for me in the recent months. I think that taking the time to focus in on this
has been the impetus for this patience devotional. Having very little time to
work on my own pursuits or even having time to clip my own fingernails has bred
a frustration in me that can at times surface as impatience or shortness. I
didn’t realize that I had this problem until God showed me that I needed to
address these behaviors.
I need to be equipped with patience to minister…..to my
family. Perhaps little by little I will be able to focus time and energy on the
other things that I love to do, to encourage others as well. But for now,
cooking, cleaning, laundry and nurture are my ministry. I choose to embrace
that, and will continue to pray that God will open time and space and energy
for the other as He wills.
I do believe that what we do as moms and dads is a ministry,
and that our ministry to our family is core and central to what God’s calling
us to. I pray for each of us that He would instill a great desire to serve from
love, and that as we do our patience will increase and equip us for that
ministry.
Prayer:
Lord, I pray that You will equip me with patience today. If
I am harboring any resentment toward my family, I ask that You would remove it
and heal the wound. I ask that You would also give me a great joy and desire to
serve them. Show me how best to do that. Help me not to live in a world of
idealism or perfectionism. Instead, help me to be realistic and joyful.
Intercession:
If you want to keep track of your prayers for your children,
open your journal and pray over the list, giving God glory for His work. I have
been doing this to help me to remain focused on God’s hand in our lives, but it
isn’t necessary for a good prayer life! Lift up needs of the day, and spend
time listening for God to move on your heart for each child.
Lord, I thank You that You are the King of our hearts. I
bless You today, and give You Your rightful place on the throne in our
home. In Jesus’ Name I pray these
things, amen.
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