Practicing Presence and Developing Patience – Purity 1938
Purity 1938 04/15/2026 Purity 1938 Audio Podcast
Purity 1938 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a massive pine tree emerging from the wild and unmanaged land at the back of my place down by the river as morning dew is turned into ground level mist as the sun rises in the east comes to us from yours truly as I paused for a moment to capture the moment as I left for work yesterday morning.
Well, it’s Wednesday, and I share this photo of this massive pine tree’s peak as a visual representation of our arrival at another midweek summit, so happy hump day, and as a reminder to take the occasional pause in our busy routines to recognize the beauty in our everyday lives. If we just focus on our routine tasks and focus on solving the problems of life, we can easily miss the peace and beauty that are available for us to enjoy. Two of the fruit of the Spirit are peace and joy after all, and if we aren’t encountering these states of being regularly, we have to wonder if we are “walking in the Spirit” at all. Yeah, our lives may be busy and have a fair amount of stress due to work and family issues and the ongoing series of trials that flow into and out of our lives, but we should ask ourselves whether or not we are living in peace and joy.
Do you have peace? Do you know joy? Does your mind, body, soul, and spirit tell you that you have peace or that you know joy?
Obviously, I would recommend a daily spiritual practice of prayer, Bible study, and gratitude to keep your focus on the Lord, what He says about your life, and the good things that He has provided you with. Our spiritual lives form the foundation on which we can live in peace.
But I would also recommend the practice of staying grounded in the present moment as you go about your day to avoid the pitfalls of an anxious or distracted, reactive mind. Just reminding ourselves that “I’m okay”, “I’m safe”, “There is nothing wrong here.” “God is with me,” or “Where I’m at right now is pretty good, I like it here,” can help us to experience peace and real joy moment to moment. Practicing presence and gratitude with the Lord moment to moment can train our bodies and mind to be able to have a “peace and joy” baseline that make us resilient when things get challenging, or we face trial and need patience.
Speaking of patience and trial, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today speaks about that topic, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us to “do life with God” and to face our trials and daily challenges according to His ways of peace. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“Developing Patience
Growth rarely comes easily, yet we can celebrate the good that God will bring from our struggles.
James 1:1-4
Do you ever wish you were more patient? Most of us would say yes! But how do we acquire a calm, gentle heart? And what can we do to help strengthen this attribute over time?
Let’s start by thinking of patience as a muscle that has to be used in order to become stronger. Toward that end, believers should recognize difficulty as an opportunity to develop their patience.
The human instinct is to cry out to God in bewilderment when tribulation comes. We blame. We resist. We complain. But what we should do instead is say, “Thank You, Father—it’s time to grow in patience!”
James tells us to consider trials a joy (1:2). But we often fail at this, don’t we?
Humanly speaking, praising the Lord for tribulation feels unnatural. However, doing so begins to make sense to believers when they cling to God’s promise that good comes from hardship (Romans 8:28). We are not waiting on the Lord in vain. We can praise Him for the solution He will bring, the lives He will change, or the spiritual fruit He will develop in us.
Accepting hardship as a means of growth is a radical concept. But God’s followers have cause to rejoice. Tribulation increases our patience so that we can stand firm on His promises and await His good timing.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. When we agree with God’s word and see beyond the details of the negative circumstances we are facing and consider God’s grand narrative, we enter into the life of faith that God wants for us.
When we learn to endure through and deal with problems with patience, we allow the Lord’s strength to flow through us and to let God change us. As we go through life and encounter hardships and trials with the Lord, we grow into our capacity to deal with difficult times and become more mature in our faith. We also appreciate and love the Lord more because we realize that He walks with us through the toughest times of our lives and that we are never alone.
When we do life with God, we see beyond the current circumstances and see His plan for our good. So don’t let the hardships of your life destroy you. Instead, look at the challenges that you face as an opportunity to grow personally and to grow closer to the One who is working all things together for your good.
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