Patience For Affliction

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, Colossians 1:11 

  

  I thought I had mentally prepared myself for the Covid-19 epidemic. All my years of suffering various afflictions and my experience with nearly dying years ago had given me a strong foundation for trials. But then my Achilles heel began to act up. 

  Patience has always been my weak spot. I have struggled with it for as long as I can remember all the way back into my childhood. Even after going through many years of afflictions, a lack of patience has added to my difficulties. 

  When the Covid-19 epidemic began it looked like things would only be shut down for a few weeks. There were shortages of necessary items in stores, inability to eat at favorite restaurants or go to places we wanted to visit, fear of being too close to strangers who might carry the virus, and on it went. A few weeks of challenges did not seem an impossible hill to climb. 

  Then the order to stay at home was extended, and not seeing family members for up to six weeks or more was something I was not prepared for. Not seeing my child and grandchild, that was the bridge too far. And now I find my resolve and strength for enduring this epidemic weakening as my patience grows ever thinner. 

  We will always have struggles we are unprepared for no matter how strong our faith or resolve seems, our strength will at times come up short. In such situations we must turn in faith to our God to give us help, to give us strength, and in my case, give me patience. 

  Crisis’s will come and go. Life is filled with them. We should be as prepared as possible to meet them, but know that our strength alone is often insufficient. 

  What weaknesses plague you in times of trial? Call upon the Lord to strengthen you in His holy Spirit. The fruit deriving from the Holy Spirit is there to meet our needs and empower us always, but especially in times of crisis. The Lord gives us endurance for the challenges we are faced with. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, I need patience. I need Your strength. Thank You for understanding our weaknesses and graciously giving us help through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.