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Key Bible Verse: Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness (2 Peter 1:6). Bonus Reading: Luke 10:38–40

Becoming unhurried requires training. Deliberately choose to place yourself in positions where you simply have to wait. For the next week or so …

• Drive in the slow lane on the expressway. Maybe not swerving from lane to lane will cause you to arrive five minutes later than usual. But you'll find that you don't get nearly so angry at other drivers. Instead of trying to pass them, say a little prayer as they go by, asking God to bless them.

• Declare a fast from honking. Put your horn under a vow of silence.

• Eat your food slowly. Force yourself to chew at least 15 times before each swallow.

• At the grocery store, notice which check-out line is the longest. Get in it. Let one person go ahead of you …

You get the idea. To cultivate patience, we must deliberately choose ways that make hurry impossible. As we practice them, we should tell God we're trusting Him to enable us to accomplish all we need to get done.

Often people worry that if they don't rush, they'll accomplish less. In fact, researchers have found that there is simply no correlation between hurry or Type-A behavior and productivity.

—John Ortberg in The Life You've Always Wanted

My Response: One way I'll slow down this week is …

Thought to Apply: Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. —Barbara Johnson (author and speaker)

Adapted from The Life You've Always Wanted (Zondervan, 1997) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Eternal Father, I know it's not Your plan for me to feel driven. Please reveal to me Your perspective on my time.

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