Good morning and welcome to Dr. Sunday Soul Connection. As always, we begin our time together with Naturally 7 and “Let it Be.”
Always I like to applaud you for taking the next 45 minutes out of your busy Sunday to join on our Sunday Soul Connection with others across the airwaves linking hearts and minds.
That we’re consciously choosing to connect with the Ground of our being God in us as us.
This mornings theme is patience and endurance. I love love, love the quote I shared yesterday by Edwin Hubble Chapin. He says: “Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite.”
I feel that many of us at one time or another, or even currently, are being called to patiently endure something, someone some experience of some sort.
And patience is always a challenge for many of us; then to be enduring whilst patiently going through whatever, seems like a double whammy. But one of the things I know with absolute certainty, that whatever it is that we are patiently enduring we cannot do it without deepening in our faith.
The sacred text
I want to share a couple of them with you.
You know that the testing of your faith produces patient endurance. Let patient endurance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1: 3-4
“Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite”
Patient Endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised. ~ Hebrews 10:36
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patient endurance… Rom 5:3
Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes. – Gautama Buddha
We live in a time where we expect instant gratification. We want snippets. We don't want to have to look at anything or read anything that's more than three or four minutes long.
Our attention span has become so shortened. So when we are experiencing something or going through something our patience level is somewhat decreased and enjduring it as well is somewhat again hampered by the fact that we want something to be ended or settled or sorted in the shortest possible time.
But as our sacred text reminds us that it's the testing about faith, that we may be mature and complete and receive all that God has promised.
You see it is the attitude of mind that needs to exhibit the calmness and quietness that we need to experience this and navigate our way through.
I want to highlight for our story this morning. Some of the people in the Bible that patiently endured. We know that Abraham who God promised to be the father of many nations. But he was well into his hundreds and Sarah was 90 and they still hadn't had children. So how would he become father the nations that God had said, and he was childless?
We spoke last week about Hagar and Sara being impatient, gave Abraham her maid servant. So that in her mind and her way of thinking God's promise could be validated.
God always has a plan as we patiently endure.
We know that Abraham and Sarah had their son Isaac when She 90 that he was 100 years old. That is a demonstration of patientenduring.
We also know about Joseph with his 12 brothers, who, through their jealousy after Joseph had revealed a dream how he was a stor they had all bow down to himIn jealousy they were going to kill him, but because they knew he was the father's favourite, they threw him in a pitch and eventually he was sold into slavery. We know how he suffered as a slave when the Masters wife took a fancy to him and then accused him of inappropriate behaviour and he was then thrown into jail.
He patiently endured until he finally got his release after revealing to the king, the dream it was years that that he suffered as a slave then languished in prison before he finally became the president of Egypt and was able to save not only Egypt, but the surrounding countries, which then included his family and I always always, always loved the line when he revealed himself to his brothers reminding them what they had done, how they thought that they'd killed him and all that he had suffered. And he said the lines which served me always “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Another story that I want to share with you about a patient enduring is Job. We know that Job was struck with an illness and boils and discomfort. He lost all his children and he endured every single thing; even when his wife and friends were telling him to curse God die!
Job would not J and trusted and waited patiently upon God. We know that in that through his patient endurance he was healed and he was blessed with more than he had at the beginning or at the start of his torment.
We know of Simeon who was aware that the Christ was to be born, but that he would not die an angel revealed to him until he had seen the Messiah. We don't know how long he had waited, but we know that he patiently endured waiting for the revelation of the Christ.
After Jesus was born, the Spirit led and guided him so that he could see Jesus and Simeon was giving God glory and thanks because he had patiently endured and waited so that he saw the Christ as promised.
Each one of those examples, never got what they needed, wanted or desired according to their time scale.
Always. I like to remind you that when we can get out of the thinking of this 24/7 clock, we we always think of things that happen or need to happen and that God's time is always on time.
The Bible talks about God creating a world in seven days, resting on the six not literal. Time is a human construct. Everything is unfolding imploding, exploding, in its own and perfect way.
Everything is born, everything dies, everything is transformed and transmuted in its perfect and timely way. It’s not about what we want or how quickly we want it.
It is written that “we should to wait upon the Lord and be of good courage”. We attribute the Psalms to David. David knew how to wait and be patient. His journey from shepherd boy to being in the army and ultimately becoming the king. He patiently endured also.
When we stop and look back and reflect upon our lives, we can see no matter how impatient we were wanting something to happen in our time scale. It happened in God's time scale. And ultimately, that timescale was best
Poem: Lord Take my wings by Deborah Ann
Lord, take my eagle wings,
give them renewed strength
so I may fly the distance
no matter how far the length.
Help them to soar upon,
the winds of trusting You
give them the patience
til You tell me what to do.Help them not to get weary,
so they will never tire
when with obstacles they meet
promise to lift them higher.Help them to understand,
when to wait, when to fly
give them wisdom knowing
on their own they needn’t try.
Lord, give my eagle wings,
a boost of Your power…
for You may call for me
to take off at any hour!
10 Tips for enduring patiently
Accept - Whatever is happening External and Internal reality - thoughts and emotions
Don’t Play the Victim - What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger Nietzsche
Feel - it no spiritual by-passing
Listen - to still small voice - Up your spiritual practice
Get connected - Friends, Family, Volunteer,
Make every day meaningful. Do something that gives you a sense of accomplishment and purpose every day
Learn from experience. Think of how you've coped with hardships in the past
Remain trusting. You can't change the past, but you can always look toward the future
Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings.
Deepen in your Faith - Remind yourself all the times God brought your through - Stop cussing God - Up your spiritual practice
Practice Patience - Waiting in line or on hold, traffic - stop thinking how long it’s taking or will take
Science of Mind Reading
SUNDAY SOUL CONNECTION PRAYER
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BUDDHIST REFLECTION
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MOVEMENT PRAYER 3
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Rumination
Be patient where you sit in the dark, the dawn is coming.
Rumi
Benediction
Mother Father God
When the noise and haste surrounds us and threatens to take us hostage,
May Your gentle voice soothe and guide us to a place of quiet strength; and patient endurance.
When the days seem cold and dark, and the nights unbelievably long,
May Your smile illumine and warm us from within; When we feel alone and dismal,
May You send someone to us with a daisy.
May we truly go forth in joy and be led back in peace with patient endurance.
Song
We Are Messengers, Faith Sees Best In The Dark.