Today’s 31 Days of Bible verses about patience comes from Psalm 37:7-9, “Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall possess the land.” These verses pack a serious patience punch! “Be still…wait patiently…fret not…refrain from anger…forsake wrath,” let’s start to unpack this patience verse.
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Bible Verses About Patience
The first thing that strikes me about these verses is the word, “before.” If my grammar is correct–and there’s a very real possibility it’s not even close–“before” is a preposition in this sentence. Looking up synonyms led me to two very interesting words: “since” and “ahead of.”
“Be still since the Lord…” Since the Lord what? Walks with me (Leviticus 26:12) Guards me as the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10) Covers me with favor (Psalm 5:12) Blesses me (Genesis 49:25) Will never abandon me (Deuteronomy 4:31) Is with me (Genesis 28:15) Loves me forever (Jeremiah 31:31) Will fight for me (Deuteronomy 1:30) Holds my right hand (Isaiah 41:13) Chose me (John 15:16) Loves me (1 John 4:10) Carries me (Isaiah 46:4) Accepts me (Psalm 27:10) Provides for me (Psalm 145:15) Has engraved me on the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) *A lovely printable list of those verses is available for download in the Bible Journaling Tips, Inspiration and Permission Book “You can be still Jenny since the Lord does any and all those things His Word says He does…and you can wait patiently for Him.” I read those verses and I can convince myself to be still and wait because I know–based on those scriptural examples–He’s trustworthy.
I have said before and I will say it again, I am not a Theologian. I do not know the original Greek or Hebrew meaning of any words much less Biblical words. But I do try to know God. I try to know God by reading my Bible (I use this large print) and learning more about Him. And in learning more about Him, when I come to verses where I can ask a question like, “Since the Lord what?” I can start to draw on what I know about the character of God. And sometimes when I ask the question, “What does this mean to me or for me?” I can search my memory and recall passages that have described what the Lord does for me.
Another idea–if I wanted to take this passage literally, or just the very beginning words because that’s as far as we’ve gotten–I could consider actually and physically being still before the Lord in Adoration.
In the next post we’ll get to “Fret not…refrain from anger…forsake wrath…” and what’s in store for those who do wait patiently for the Lord.
This post is part of a 31 Day series on Bible Verses About Patience. You can read the other posts here.
ERIC BAGASHE says
I need quotes on patience and perservierence