**IMPORTANT:

Before reading the message I have for you today, listen to this song. Go somewhere peaceful where it’s just you and God in this moment and take in every lyric.

There is a reason I wanted you to listen to that song before reading. It’s easy to pick up a book and start reading or scroll through articles online. It’s a part of a lot of people’s daily routine.

However, how often before you start your devotion, or go to church, are you already prepared and ready to encounter the presence of God?

I know the answer for me is not often. I am too busy thinking about the million tasks I have for the day to even begin to put everything out of my mind and simply be still in His presence.

So now that you’ve listened to the song, I hope it was able to move you the way it moved me. Music is a part of me. I grew up singing in church, and there is nothing more powerful than the act of praise and worship for our Savior. I used this particular song to set the mood for today’s message because, a couple years ago, I started dedicating certain words to each new year, and for 2020 I use the words PATIENCE AND PRAISE.

How many of you know someone who is impatient or how many of you are impatient?

How easy is it to become stressed, frustrated, worried, and even lost with the means of this thing we call life?

And, I didn't just choose this topic because of everything that is going on right now with COVID-19. This virus, as scary as it is for our nation, is simply another area in our lives that is out of our control. No one suspected or planned it. Life happens, and the only one who can bring the calm in all of it is Jesus.

However, the problem today is we don't want to be patient and wait. We don't want to take a step back, be still for a moment, and rely on the only person who can take our fears away.

In other words, we forget to praise Him in the good times and the bad.

As the years go by, life becomes more and more chaotic. The big tasks, even from the tiniest ones on our to-do list, become more important than our act of worship for Jesus. Our mind, thoughts, and spirit become easily crowded with the mess going on around us. Whether that be school, work, kids, finances, trips, sickness, celebrations, ceremonies, meetings, relationships, the news, etc. The list goes on and on.

Sometimes I wonder why we are constantly going all the time, and I recently learned the answer to this question.

I am currently a senior at Oklahoma State, and this past year has been a tough one for me. It all started when my sister left Stillwater and moved back to my hometown after getting married. I had been with her in Stillwater ever since I was a freshman, and I thought, “Oh I got this. I can do this on my own.” At the beginning, I was doing great. Meeting new people, doing new things, and putting myself out there.

However, the “I can do it on my own” thinking took a major turn on me.

“He who leans on, trust in, and is confident in his own mind and heart is a fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly wisdom shall be delivered.” – Proverbs 28:26

After a while, I didn't recognize myself anymore. I was going a million miles an hour trying to fill this void in my life with people and situations other than God. I knew I had a lot going on emotionally and spiritually, but instead of running to the one person I should have, I ran to everything else.

I ran to the world and the devil’s lies about me.

I ran to attention and pleasure.

I ran to depression and defeat.

Until eventually, I was lost and became bitter, resentful, and numb to everything and everyone around me. I would lie to the people closest to me just to push out the pain because I didn't want to face the truth of my sin.

How many of us run to people, friends, social events, social media, self-help books, the gym, planning, organizing, your favorite TV show, food, trying to figure out our next diet or exercise plan rather than to God during a time of emotional pain? Now I am certainly not saying any of those areas are bad ideas to get away and clear your mind. However, I am saying it’s easy to run to those things first rather than the man who died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins.

There is no greater love, yet we seem to forget that tiny detail when roaming about our daily lives.

Loneliness.

That was the case for me.

Your void might look different. It might be insecurity, doubt, failure, confusion, etc., which all those were mixed in with my loneliness, and I chose to fill it with sin. You might not fill it with sin, but some of the innocent areas I mentioned above. Nonetheless, anything we put above God is not only an idol but a destructive habit we can’t seem to break when we don't fill our lives with the truth of God’s Word.

I suffered because of my own weakness. I relied on my own strength. When I finally started running to God and learning to be PATIENT while PRAISING Him in the waiting, as the song mentions, I was found in His love for me. All He asks of us is to be still and be with Him.