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Day 154, or June the 3rd. Patience is a virtue. Our thoughts today are rooted in Psalm 13,

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verse 1. How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face

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from me?

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Of all David's Psalms, his number 13 describes

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him and many of us today so well. Throughout his life, David was often ahead of God and

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regularly behind him. His timing was far from perfect, and he wrestled with God many times,

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but God showed him lots of patience.

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And now today's action step. If I were God, I would act quicker than this. How many times

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have we thought this? Too many, I think, and we are all wrong every time. David was a very

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impulsive man. Just ask Bathsheba and Uriah, whose marriage he ruined after a brief sighting

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of Bathsheba taking a bath. He was not renowned for his patience, but his intentions were

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usually genuine, which is why God described him as a man after my own heart. Simon Peter

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is a favorite amongst the disciples, because he had similar weaknesses. We look at these

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two giants of the faith and are tempted to conclude that their weaknesses were acceptable,

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therefore we can accommodate them in our own lives. This is not true. It's a bit like

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saying, everyone speeds on motorways, therefore it's okay if I do. The lessons to learn from

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many of the biblical characters we read about is that God was very patient with them, but

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he longed for them to change, just as he longs for us to change, too. I recall a man shouting

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at a striker in a football match many years ago. He kept saying, Stop holding on to the

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ball! Shoot now! Shoot now! I have left it too late! Then the ball was propelled like

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a rocket into the net. The striker wasn't too late. He simply knew when the time was

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right. When you think God seems to be delaying, try asking yourself, What do I do in the meantime?

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Rather than just, Why don't you get a move on? You will be the main beneficiary.