La paciencia: Un atributo esencial para experimentar lo mejor de Dios

The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to all creatures, to the end of the earth. En Contacto, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on En Contacto, Patience, an essential attribute to experience the best of God. When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, the Holy Spirit came to our lives to seal us as children of God. For this reason we have eternal security. It is His work and not our conduct that makes us acceptable before God. And when I think about this process, I consider the fact that the Holy Spirit sealed us and made it possible for Him to do whatever He has called us to do. Many people spend their lives in the church, they were baptized at an early age, they listened to many sermons, and they will never understand that God never planned for them to live the Christian life. He did not. His plan was to allow the Holy Spirit, who dwells in them, to live the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in them. So we were not only made to be saved. God has equipped us to do whatever He has called us to do, so that we may be and do that for which He created us. So when we think about His life and the challenges He faces, remember this, that He already has the power of the Holy Spirit to live and to face any situation and circumstance in life. It was not that God saved us and left us on our own. So when we think about His life and consider what He faces, when we face difficulties, I would say that He is a patient person. And the truth is that perhaps we all have aspects in life

in which it is difficult for us to wait and abstain from thinking or doing what we want. But patience is a gift from God, not something we develop. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit. By accepting Christ, God sealed us as His children, and He begins to pour into our lives, if we allow Him, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, and patience. So I would like to talk about all this, how essential it is that we experience God's patience in our lives, because it affects everything we do. So when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, sometimes He tells us, no, or maybe He says, not now, or maybe He says, tomorrow, whenever, but God gave us a compass, His Spirit. He gave us a sense of direction in the Holy Spirit, so that we would not have to spend our lives changing our appearance and making decisions that we would often regret. So I would like to talk about patience, because the Bible says that it is a gift from the Spirit. How many of you here know that you are saved? Raise your hand. Keep it up. Do you know that you are saved? Very good. Do you know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you? Well, you should all raise your hand, because if you are saved, the Holy Spirit is there. And one of your main objectives is to prepare us to walk with patience in our Christian life. So listen to what it says, Psalm 27, verse 14. Wait for Jehovah, make an effort, and your heart will be lifted. Yes, wait for Jehovah. Why did He say that?

Because to wait for the Lord, sometimes we have to make an effort and be brave, because sometimes there are pressures that arise to make decisions in life, spouses, families, business, or whatever. It says, wait. In Psalm 37, verse 7, it says three times, keep silence before Jehovah. In this passage, keep silence before Jehovah, and wait for Him. Do not be disturbed. So I ask, how many of you here are disturbed? Well, there are five sincere people here today. Why are we disturbed? Because we do not feel the freedom to move forward, or to buy this, or to go there, or to do this or that, or to establish a relationship. So we are disturbed because we do not feel the freedom. We don't have God's approval, but God doesn't give us his approval, because it's not the best. Psalm 40 says, Patiently I waited for Jehovah, and he bowed to me, and heard my cry. Look at this. Patiently I waited for Jehovah, and he bowed to me, and he bowed to hear what I said, and answered my petition. So patience is very important in every aspect of life. How would you define patience if someone told you, well, explain to me, define to me what patience is. What would you say? It's the perseverance in calm and without complaints when you're under stress or annoyance. It's having patience. So ask yourself,

do you stay calm and without complaining when things don't go your way? Let me give you the simplest definition of patience. Listen to this. Patience is the will to wait. That's the only thing you need to know. Patience is the will to wait. In other words, in situations, we must make decisions, but sometimes we don't know what to do, or sometimes God worries our spirit, and we have to make a decision. Will I wait for God's direction or not? Most people don't want to wait. They want God to act to their convenience. Think about this. We recognize that God is omniscient. He knows everything. We recognize that He knows everything about us. We recognize that God knows what's best for us. However, we come to those situations where God tells us to wait and we don't want to. So we think about all the reasons why we shouldn't have to wait. Let's look at others who have this or that. Why should we have to wait? Because God, in His infinite love and power, knows that sometimes in our lives certain things don't fit. In other words, God created us. For what? To live for Him, to serve Him, and to reflect on Him. God created us to live the life He has put in us. When I want something that God doesn't want me to have, and I insist on having it, I'm being impatient. When we pressure God, well, Lord, I've waited long enough. It's time to have what I want. Pay attention. God is our greatest protector. When He says no, listen, don't think that God is rejecting you, but that He's doing what? He's protecting you. When God says no, it's a word of protection.

We often think, well, Lord, if you loved me, you'd let me have this and that. It's the will to wait. So I ask you, would you say that He's a patient person? Now think about it for a moment. Would you say that He's a patient person? In other words, that He calmly tolerates the delays that God puts in His life When He says no, He goes to God for something that He believes is His will for His life. He consults Him. Pay attention. The following happens. He asks the Lord, and He doesn't hear anything. He asks Him about it, and He doesn't hear anything. So he says, well, it must be fine, because God didn't say that I couldn't do it. Never follow that path. If I do this because God hasn't told me that I shouldn't do it, what's the point of waiting until God tells me that I should do it? This is how we manipulate the word and the circumstances in order to justify our desires. They are often obstacles, they are seeds of destruction in our lives for not being willing to wait for God. Look, do you agree that God loves you? Do you agree with that? Tell me. Some of you do, and others don't. God does love you, and allow me to ask you, do you love your children? Come on, do you love your children? Good. If they ask you for something that you know will harm them, would you like to give it to them? Then why do we wait for God to do that? We ask God for something, and sometimes God says no, and this happens. Often people say, well, I'll read the Bible to see what God says. I've heard this many times.

They go to the Psalms and Proverbs or somewhere, and they look and find a passage that says, let's see, and they look and look and look, and they say, well, surely God must be telling me something. And they find a verse that they can interpret that God told them to read. He said yes, and affirmed, God told me that I could do it. God, no, but yes. Listen to this. When you accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit sealed you as a son of God. Live in us 24 hours a day. One of your main purposes is to write our name in the Lamb's Book. By sealing us as children of God forever, live in you to give you direction in life. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. That is part of what He does in our lives. So we have in us the absolute truth, the right compass that will give us the right direction every time we ask for it. That's how He is, because God knows how complicated life is. He did not leave us here without His Spirit. He told His disciples, stay in the city of Jerusalem until you receive power from the High. You cannot lead the life that has been given to you without the Holy Spirit.

And that's exactly what they did. They waited until you came to live with them. When you accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit came into your life, sealed you as a son of God. He is always a son of God. He cannot be lost. Once sealed by the blood of Christ, he cannot be lost, but without a doubt he can damage your life by not listening to the Holy Spirit that lives in you to give you direction and clear guidance in every aspect of your life. So, patience. Patience is crucial. Listen to what He says. But the fruit of the Spirit is... In other words, we can expect the Holy Spirit to be expressed in these ways, love, joy, peace, patience. So, in us dwells the one who is willing to direct us in all circumstances of life. So, let's think about this for a moment. What do we need to have patience? First, we must have faith in God. Have faith in God to believe that He will direct me in every occasion, in whatever I need, in whatever direction, because He promised to do so.

Second, we must have the spirit of obedience. If I have an obedient spirit, I will choose to obey God. Perhaps I will fail in that in some way, but the Holy Spirit is there to empower us, to give us guidance. For what? To follow Him. Then, the following, and key, discernment of God's time. When will the Holy Spirit show us? We often ask Him for something that is not His will at the moment. It is not His plan at that moment, but later. What we must do is be wise to say, Lord, if it is not Your will, or if it is not Your will now, give me the grace to wait until You give me permission to have it, or to go in whatever case. Then, to be patient, I must love God. If I do not love Him, I must not be patient. If I do not love Him, I must retain Him now. If I do not love Him, I want things to work as and when I want them. If I want to be patient, I must love God. That is, if I love Him, I will be patient. If someone says, well, I love God, but...

There are no buts. If I love Him, I will be patient. If I do not love God, I do not trust Him. I will not be patient. Then, I ask you, would you consider your husband, your wife, your friends, your co-workers, do they see you as a patient person? Now, there are only two answers, yes or no. Yes, that's right, no, it's not like that. And because of their conduct, their conversation, and their character with them. If I love myself, I love the material, if I love other people more than God, I will seek my own satisfaction. But God wants the best for His children. There is no one who can say, God does not want the best for me. Of course He does. Well, if it were so, He would give me this or that. No, the reason why He did not give it to you is because God does love you. Because His love for us has no limits. And His love is so powerful that God will say no when He knows that what we want is not from Him so that we know it. The fruit of the Spirit is patience. To be willing to wait a long time if necessary. Ask yourself if that is true. Now you need courage to obey God.

You need courage to be patient because sometimes I can remember occasions in my life where I thought, well, Lord, I am on the edge, and if I do not wait... If I do something, I will fall to the precipice. Look, you know who is on the other side of the edge? Almighty God will not fall to the precipice. Sometimes God lets us get close to what we believe is a point of maximum and unalterable despair, but God is always there. He is a God of love, of direction, of guidance and advice in our life. Courage is needed to trust in God, and in simple words, we must have determination to wait. Now, I could give many illustrations of people whom, over the years, I have advised them to wait to buy something, to wait for something in their marriage, or something about their children or young people who wait to make decisions about college, etc. On every occasion. I remember when someone received good spiritual advice and decided to act in their own way, it never ended as they wanted. Do you know why? Because God wants the best for us. And He says, I will make you understand, and I will teach you the path you must walk. Look, we begin by saying that patience is the fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift from God, which means that we have the ability to make wise decisions. The fruit of the Spirit is patience. The Spirit of God exercises patience through, by, and through us, because God wants us to follow His will and walk in His ways. God knows that we face difficult moments and situations,

and sometimes we don't know what to do. He is there to show us what to do. If you are a follower of Christ, if you are a Christian, if you have accepted Christ in your life as your Savior, you have inside you the greatest, the most, the supreme counselor for every situation in life, without exception. God will guide you. He will not hide the truth from you. He will not retain the wise counsel. If you do not have wise counsel, it is because you have not asked for it. Why? Because God loves you unconditionally. He wants the best for you, no matter what. So the fruit of the Spirit is patience. Patience is not a matter of popular approval. Do you know why? I will tell you, because we want what we want, when and how we want it, and that's it. When we don't have it, we don't want anyone to tell us why we can't have it. And I understand that. The same thing happened when Jesus Christ spoke. People didn't want to listen to any of the things he said, but that's fine. Let's think about it for a moment. Why do we say that patience is essential to experience the best of God? Number one, it is essential to lead a life of obedience to God. To obey God, I must listen to Him. I must listen to Him, and I must obey Him. To obey God, I must be willing to renounce my own personal desires and opinions, on occasion, to do what God says. That is God loving me. God loving me. Pay attention.

Whatever you are going through and you are praying about it, and God says no, look, when God says no, what is He saying? What He says is, I love you. God's no is, I love you. Someone will say, when God says no, I get angry. No, when God says no, He is saying, I love you. I also consider this to be essential to establish good relationships with other people. That is patience. To have good friends, we must be patient with them. And I have nothing to say about those who are married. They must be patient with each other. Wherever they work, they must be patient. It is not only a gift from God, it is a requirement in life to be able to get along with their children, with their wife or their husband. Living with someone who does not have patience is a very, very difficult situation. We all need to express patience, and we need to express it to other people, because people make mistakes. We can all become impatient if we are not careful. But if you look at something, impatience can never fix anything. No. In us dwells the Holy Spirit, who will give us a clear direction about whatever concerns us in life, whatever it may be, any relationship, whatever it may be. And consider this, the auspicious time is very important. It is in sports, in economics, it is important in relationships, in war, in photography. The auspicious moment is very important. God is always in us, as followers of Christ. We have the Holy Spirit to give us a clear direction in whatever and all circumstances of life. If we are willing to wait for Him, to wait for the Lord, He gives us a clear direction immediately. He often does. But to make an important decision in life, perhaps we have to wait until God tells us what to do. Are you willing to wait?

Do you treasure God's wisdom? Do you value it? Do you appreciate divine wisdom? Do you long for it so much that you wait for God to show you clearly what to do? I have seen so many people make decisions that they knew they should not have made. But I often hear, well, I waited three months. Well, I waited six months. I waited two weeks. I waited, waited, waited, and nothing happened. And what? I did what I wanted. God loves us. He only wants the best for us. When God says, wait, we hear this, I love you. That is what He does. He loves us when He tells us to wait. Remember that He said that it is only patience. It is only the willingness to wait. And when we wait, we see God act. I have often seen this in my own life. I have had to wait, wait, wait for something. In the end, I see that God leads me to a good place. Again and again, my answer has been, thank you, Lord. Jesus, thank you. Thank you, beloved God, that I waited. Thank you, Lord, that I did not go before you. Most people today may be unhappy because they have refused to wait for God to give them direction about something in their life. Many people today are in serious trouble because they have not waited. How many times have I spoken to married people who have told me, I know I should not have done that, because He did it. Do you give me any reason?

Or, I made such a decision in my life and I never thought of asking God. What I want you to see is simple. God loves you. He created you. You have a purpose for your life. Maybe you do not know what the purpose is. Maybe you have lived two thirds of your life and never asked God anything, but God loved you, saved you. You have a purpose, a plan for your life, and He will show it to you clearly if you ask Him calmly. Do not pressure Him. Or if someone says, I have waited two weeks, that is enough. That is enough for our finite mind. Let me ask you, is God perfect? Does it take long? Then why do we not wait for Him? If we say He is perfect and it does not take long, then if I wait, I am on time. I wait for God to say that it is the moment. I tell you with all my heart that this way you can never lose. Never, never, never, never get lost in waiting for God. Trust Him. Listen to Him. Wait for Him and see what happens. If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, none of this will work. I only tell you. You will struggle in life, you will make many mistakes, and you will end up in a disaster without Christ in your life. But if you are willing to ask forgiveness for your sins, to give up your life, you will have this great, eternal, omnipotent resource, the Holy Spirit, who gives guidance, direction, and the perfect moment, if you listen to Him. If you are not saved, if you have not accepted Christ, encourage Him. to resolve that matter and allow the Lord Jesus Christ to become the love of his life, his life will change. Look, do not live outside the will of God, because that is living outside

his blessing. Father, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you because you never make mistakes. You are always perfect, your time is always perfect. We ask that your spirit speak to each person here, that we all examine ourselves again regarding the degree of patience we have or not. Do you know who is sitting there right now, with a decision to make today, or tomorrow, or this week, or before the end of the week? An important decision in their life. Lord, I ask you to give them enough wisdom to wait until they clearly hear what they must do, and that they are sure that you will always guide them in everything. We love you and bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.