Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12 NIV

Do you know what I love about infomercials?  They guarantee an instant solution.   No patience required.

Without watching my food intake and without much physical effort, I can transform my body with a hand weight that shakes.

If I have a monumental spill, I don’t have to spend effort cleaning it up.  I can simply put a super-absorbent chamois on top and it miraculously does the work for me. 

I only see two problems with these promises: they don’t work and my bank account is missing $19.99 plus shipping and handling.

It’s no different than the deeper trials I face.  I desperately want a quick fix.  Believe me, I search high and low for an instant cure.  I pray earnestly for God to release me from my agony.  The last thing I want is to live through a painful process.

But when I look back on the adversities of my life, I see God’s loving fingerprints through the process.  

Although I didn’t see the blessings back then, now thank God for the heartbreaking season in 2002 when I mourned the loss of my parents who died 62 days apart.  There was no quick fix.  But there was lasting intimacy.  God comforted me through sleepless nights.  He flooded me with tenderness.  Sometimes it was through my husband’s loving touch.  Other times, I felt the truest love from my Heavenly Daddy as I cried gut-wrenching prayers.

God reveals Himself through the process.  So I can either fight Him along the way, or I can remember that He is the same loving Daddy that He was back in 2002.  He never changes (James 1:17).  It’s this truth that allows me to see the gift of patience over the pursuit of infomercial-like quick fixes.

When you’re tempted to look for an infomercial quick fix for your current trial, take a ten-minute quiet time instead.  

List three trials God has brought you through in the past.  If possible, note how you grew in your understanding of His love and grace.

Meditate on this truth:  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

The same loving Heavenly Daddy who held you through trials in the past is the same One who is holding you now.

Dear Heavenly Dad, thank You that You are the same yesterday, today and forever.  As we face our current trials, help us to remember the countless ways You lovingly brought us out of trials in the past.  Tender our hearts so we can recognize Your love through our difficult days.  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen!

For more encouragement, check out Noelle’s book Transformation by Truth: 30 days to a healthy heart, mind and body.