Verses:
Psalm 27:14 says “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Genesis 29:20 says “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.”
Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Devo:
Police wife life seems to consist mostly of waiting. It’s waiting for that text or call back, that vacation request to go through, that shift to end, that uniform to dry, and mostly for that front door to open and our officer to come walking through it. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been very good at waiting. Patience is not something that comes naturally to me, and is a skill I need to work hard at improving.
Being patient and waiting gracefully goes against most things our culture stands for. We live in a world that is very fast paced, and a lot of times we’re told to “get after it” and “get ahead”, sometimes stepping on people or cutting corners in order to do so. That might be what our world says, but so many stories in the Bible tell us the opposite. We are told over and over to wait-expectantly and eagerly-but wait all the same. It’s not surprising, then, that patience is also a fruit of the spirit. It’s something that God looks fondly upon. If we summed up the entirety of the Bible in a few sentences, one of them would be that we’re waiting for Jesus to return. As Christians and as police wives, patience is something that is not just encouraged but is a necessity.
When I think of waiting for a loved one I think of Jacob waiting for Rachel. He spent years working to earn her hand in marriage, but we read that they felt “like only a few days” because he loved her so much. What a precious thought! As we wait for our officers to return home, let that waiting shape our heart. Let that waiting increase the love we have for our officers, and in turn strengthen our marriages and our faith. Let patience be something that is valued in our homes, and something that brings us closer to our officer and to God.
Prayer:
Lord, today I ask You to help me build my patience. Let me wait eagerly and not impatiently. Let me remain expectant-no matter how long I have to wait. Help shape my heart into one that waits gracefully and my spirit one that overflows with patience, because that is what You want for me.
