May 30 – Strength in Patience

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Welcome to Bible Chat, where we
have devotional conversations

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rooted in Scripture and relevant
for today.

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May 30th Strength in patience.
Here’s a question that might

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surprise you.
What does it actually take to be

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strong?
Because we usually think of

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strength in terms of power being
the loudest, the most dominant,

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the one who wins the argument or
gets their way.

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Culture rewards that kind of
strength.

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It looks impressive, but
Proverbs chapter 16, verse 32

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completely redefines the whole
concept.

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Whoever is slow to anger is
better than the mighty.

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And he who rules a spirit than
he who takes a city, ruling your

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own spirit, that is harder and
greater than military conquest.

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The person who can stay calm
when they’re being provoked, who

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can hold their tongue when
everything in them wants to

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react, who can choose patience
when frustration is boiling.

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That person possesses a strength
that is genuinely rare and

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genuinely powerful, and God
calls that better than being

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mighty.
Think about that.

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Verse 31 frames this in terms of
a life well lived.

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Gray hair is a crown of glory.
It is gained in a righteous

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life, a long life shaped by
consistent righteousness.

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By choosing well repeatedly over
time produces something you

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can’t fake or rush.
It’s the kind of character that

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only comes from 1000.
Small decisions made faithfully,

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not flashy, not viral worthy,
but real, lasting, and

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honorable.
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 then

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gives us our identity as the
foundation for all of this.

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For you were once darkness, but
now you are light in the Lord.

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Walk as children of light.
You are not who you used to be.

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Whatever was there before, the
patterns, the habits, the ways

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of responding that came from a
place of fear or self

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protection, that is not your
identity anymore.

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You are light, and light doesn’t
blend into the darkness around

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it.
It shows up differently.

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It changes the room.
Verses 11 and 12 make the

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practical implication clear.
Take no part in the unfruitful

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works of darkness, but instead
expose them, for it is shameful

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even to speak of the things that
they do in secret.

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The call isn’t to be judgmental
or self-righteous, it’s simply

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to not participate when the
group chat starts circulating

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something harmful.
When the pressure is on to go

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along with something you know is
wrong, when it would be easy and

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socially safe to just stay quiet
and blend in.

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Being light means you don’t.
Not with a big speech

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necessarily, but with the quiet,
consistent choice to not give

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your participation to what tears
people down or dishonors God.

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That takes patience.
It takes self-control.

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It takes being willing to stand
slightly apart from the crowd

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sometimes without making a big
deal of it.

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And here’s what nobody tells you
about that.

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It’s actually freeing when you
stop chasing the approval of the

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loudest voices in the room and
start living from a place of

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genuine conviction.
There’s a settled Ness that

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comes with it, a piece that
doesn’t depend on whether

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everyone is clapping for you.
Patience and self-control aren’t

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weakness.
They’re the daily practice of

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the strongest kind of character
there is, and they’re being

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built in you right now, one
small faithful choice at a time.

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Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for

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redefining strength in a way
that is actually attainable and

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actually real.
Help me to be slow to anger and

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quick to choose patience, not
because I’m suppressing myself,

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but because I am genuinely
submitted to you.

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Where I’ve been walking in
darkness or going along with

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things I know are wrong.
Redirect me.

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I want to walk as a child of
light.

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Consistently, humbly and
honestly.

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Shape my character in the quiet
moments that nobody sees, and

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let that shape everything else
in Jesus name, Amen.

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What if the battles hitting your
family are not random and your

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home can become a place where
darkness loses every right to

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stay?
The Secured Home is a powerful

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six book prayer series for
believers who want to guard

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their households with biblical
authority, peace and confidence

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in Jesus Christ.
Book 1.

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Guarded Thresholds fortifies
every doorway, room, and entry

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point with prayerful protection.
Book 2, Cleansed Rooms, helps

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reclaim spaces marked by fear,
unrest, and spiritual

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defilement.
Book 3, Closed Breaches, exposes

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hidden access points and severs
every agreement with darkness.

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Book 4, Broken Assignments,
confronts oppression, torment,

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and attacks against your family.
Book 5, Consecrated Walls,

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dedicates every space and rhythm
of the home to God.

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Book 6, Abiding Peace, shows how
to maintain spiritual order,

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rest, and holy presence every
day.

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Order now on Amazon or visit
prayerscripts.org.

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Now I invite you to spend time
with God in today’s three-year

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Bible reading plan.
Proverbs Chapter 16, verses 31

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to 32 World English Bible Gray
hair is a crown of glory.

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It is attained by a life of
righteousness.

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One who is slow to anger is
better than the mighty one who

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rules his spirit than he who
takes a city.

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Ephesians chapter 5 World
English Bible Be there for

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imitators of God, as beloved
children walk in love, even as

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Christ also loved us and gave
himself up for us.

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An offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet smelling

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fragrance.
But sexual immorality and all

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uncleanness or covetousness, let
it not even be mentioned among

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you as become Saints, nor
filthiness, nor foolish talking,

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nor jesting, which are not
appropriate, but rather giving

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of thanks.
Know this for sure, that no

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sexually immoral person, nor
unclean person, nor covetous man

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who is an idolater, has any
inheritance in the Kingdom of

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Christ and God.
Let no one deceive you with

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empty words.
For because of these things the

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wrath of God comes on the
children of disobedience.

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Therefore don’t be partakers
with them, for you were once

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darkness, but are now light in
the Lord.

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Walk as children of light, for
the fruit of the Spirit is in

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all goodness and righteousness
and truth, proving what is well

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pleasing to the Lord.
Have no fellowship with the

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unfruitful deeds of darkness,
but rather even reprove them.

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For it is a shame even to speak
of the things which are done by

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them in secret.
But all things when they are

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reproved, are revealed by the
light, for everything that

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reveals is light.
Therefore he says, Awake you who

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sleep and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

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Therefore watch carefully how
you walk, not as unwise but as

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wise, redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.

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Therefore don’t be foolish, but
understand what the will of the

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Lord is.
Don’t be drunken with wine, in

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which is dissipation, but be
filled with the Spirit, speaking

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to one another in psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and

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making melody in your heart to
the Lord, giving thanks always

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concerning all things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ to

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God, even the Father, subjecting
yourselves to one another in the

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fear of Christ.
Wives, be subject to your own

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husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of

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the wife, as Christ also is the
head of the assembly, being

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Himself the Savior of the Body.
But as the assembly is subject

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to Christ, so let the wives also
be to their own husbands in

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everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even

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as Christ also loved the
assembly and gave Himself up for

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it, that He might sanctify it,
having cleansed it by the

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washing of water, with the Word,
that He might present the

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assembly to Himself gloriously,
not having spot or wrinkle or

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any such thing, but that it
should be holy and without

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defect.
Even so, husbands also ought to

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love their own wives as their
own bodies.

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He who loves his own wife loves
himself.

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For no man ever hated his own
flesh, but nourishes and

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cherishes it, even as the Lord
also does the assembly, because

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we are members of His body, of
His flesh and bones.

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For this cause a man will leave
his father and mother and will

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be joined to his wife.
The 2 will become one flesh.

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This mystery is great, but I
speak concerning Christ and of

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the assembly.
Nevertheless, each of you must

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also love his own wife even as
himself, and let the wife see

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that she respects her husband.
Thanks for joining us on Bible

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Chat, where Scripture meets
everyday life.

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If today’s devotional encouraged
you, share it with a friend and

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conversation.
Until next time, stay rooted in

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truth, anchored in hope, and
walking daily with.

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Jesus.