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“The only way to obtain the promises of God is through faith and patience.”

A thought by Christine Caine from her book, Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure (p. 165). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And that is what we want, isn’t it?

Christine says, “That applies to everything, including any words, goals, plans, dreams, or visions he’s placed in our hearts. God makes the promises and our part is to persevere, just as the writer of Hebrews told us: ‘We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised’ (Hebrews 6:12, emphasis added).

“Maybe you have a dream, a goal, a plan you’ve been working toward for years, and you feel God has forgotten you. Maybe you have wanted to: • Start a business • Go back to school • Build a non-governmental organization (NGO) • Serve in your community • Become a foster parent • Go on a mission trip • Lead a ministry

“Whatever it is, God has not forgotten you. The dreams, visions, and plans God places in our hearts take time, lots of time. And during all that time, God is working in us so he can work through us. Again, our part is to exercise faith and patience in the process. Faith is believing God, believing that he is who he says he is, and that he will do what he said he would do. Patience is our capacity to tolerate delay—to wait. It’s trusting that God is good, God does good, and God knows what he is doing—no matter how long it takes and no matter what our purpose may be.”

She says, “There are years of hard work in between the beginning of something and whatever it is we deem as success. There are significant life lessons to be learned in the years of working toward a goal. And for us as believers, there are experiences God wants us to go through—that take time—so he can prepare us for the future he’s designed for us.”

I know, I know we don’t like hard work, but we do want to make a difference with and for God in our life, in our health, in our relationships, in our marriage, in our kids.  So, let’s continue to let Him prepares us for the future He’s designed for us?

Yes, yes!
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