THE 7 ESSENTIALS FOR CARING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

The Fifth Essential: Patience 

Welcome to this guide for daily spiritual reflection and renewal. Each day is an opportunity to seek deeper understanding, hear from God, and nurture a heart of compassion.

As you begin, take two minutes to be still and silent. Calm and focus yourself so you can hear for God and encounter Him in new ways.

When you are finished reading the prayers, Scriptures and reflections, do the same. Be still for two minutes so you can soak in what God has shown you today.

AN INVITATION TO DAILY WORSHIP

“O Christ, your blessed faith in me sends me to my knees. I am humbled at your confidence in me. Now help me to be in some measure worthy of your faith. Amen.”

E. Stanley Jones in Mastery

As found in Disciplines of the Inner Life, Benson and Benson, p. 277

DAILY SCRIPTURES

A Psalm for every day this week.

Psalm 136

A Scripture for each day this week.

Monday       I Timothy 1:16             

Tuesday       Proverbs 16:30           

Wednesday   I Corinthians 13:4a

Thursday      Romans 15:1AMP

Friday         Galatians 5:22,23

Saturday         Colossians 3:12     

Sunday        II Timothy 4:2
 

PERSONAL REFLECTION

God has been so patient with me. It has taken me a lifetime to learn His ways. And I’m still learning and growing. He has never rushed my growth or given up when I failed Him. He kept loving, teaching, guiding and pursuing me, year after year, decade after decade. His patience that lasts a lifetime reveals the depth of His care and his great faithfulness—and becomes an example for me.

If I want to care effectively like God cares, I must learn to be patient too. It’s easy to care when progress is visible and the results are encouraging. But the truest test of love is whether I keep caring when the process is slow, when change is unseen, and when the needs of others interrupt my plans. Some care lasts a lifetime—walking with someone through grief, mental illness, or addiction. Sometimes we pour out love and still don’t see the outcome we hoped for. Yet when we stay, listen, and love anyway, for the long haul, we care the way God cares. It is then that others can discover God’s love.

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK

"Forgive me, Father, for at times treating you as if you were my personal assistant or secretary. Your ways are unsearchable and beyond understanding. Help me to put my trust in you and not in my circumstances. In your presence, I am silenced. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter Scazzero, p.87

HYMN FOR THE WEEK

1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord unto me.

2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]

3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside. [Refrain]

Blessing – Call to Action

May God strengthen your heart with patient love this week.
May He fill you with endurance, gentleness, and the quiet confidence that His timing is always right.