What do I know about patience? Being patience is really difficult – one step forward, two steps back!! 2 Corinthians 12:9 says God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.
Patience is an evidence (fruit) of growing in Christ. (Galatians 5:22) When waiting for something, doubt might set in, or we get distracted by ill advice. (Job’s friends) The following might be useful.
What do I want? The “certainty” of patience.
The more we wait, the more we say to ourselves this is really, really what I want. We might also ask others what they think. Grace and humility govern our thoughts and ambitions. Something that is right and proper (and spiritual) might not be something God wants us to have, he might have something better for us to achieve.
Our certainty is God’s presence:
“never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Reading this in its immediate context confronts us about where things can go wrong if we ignore God’s presence: marriage (relationship) and money (ambition).
When do I want it? Now! The “now” of patience.
Becoming more and more impatient: at train station or airport arrival, without information about what’s going on, I quickly become impatient: when will my friends appear!?
Our housegroup recently studied Colossians. The “how to live as Christians” (chapter 3) preceded “devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2), and the purpose for that was to “proclaim the mystery of Christ”.
The text didn’t say that Paul was working hard and waiting patiently to get out of prison. To make the best of “now”, he instead did “…prayer… watchful… thankful”. Even in prison –because of it – he wanted good relationship with others including being graceful, even to criminals and prison officers.
Well, Paul is Paul! I simply can’t deal with the waiting!! Remember, God never leaves you, and desires you to grow. Paul also says “join me in suffering” (2 Timothy 2:3), he can’t cope neither! More to the point, we are soldiers for Christ to ensure the truth of salvation is related to everyone; we are also like athletes who spend all their time getting fit, and developing strategies to win.
After reaching our goal, the toils and tribulations we endure earlier become irrelevant compared to the goal we achieve. We might look back and realise how much we have also gained from the journey.
How do I want it? The “urgency” of patience.
Paul, despite having all the qualifications for righteousness, says true righteousness is about knowing God more and more (Philippians 3:10). We started with intimate relationship with God according to Genesis. We then got distracted, blamed the fruit, the spouse, the snake, the sibling, the slave masters, silent mountains and deserts, and on and on. Can’t wait? Taking an inconsiderate shortcut might hurt others and God will not be pleased.
The urgency of patience lies in realising the real value of what God has for us. The long journeys we take when we go on holidays test our patience, but it’s the best time to chat! Having observed the urgency in sorting out the church’s top floor flat, a key issue concerned the “big picture” of what we were doing as a community of believers being relevant to our neighbours, friends and environment.
For Jesus, the urgency of the night lies in choosing to obey his father and remaining unblemished, no cutting corners for himself and his mates, so he could complete the atonement for us.
As athletes wearing “Jesus” as our allegiance, the most urgent thing lies in being absolutely focused in reaching our goal: but when we get to the end, we can look back and say we have “fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith”. (2 Timothy 4:7)
How do I want it? The “surprise” of patience.
What did Josiah do when he found the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22)? His country’s original goal was to sort out the temple. On reading the Book, Josiah “turned to the Lord”. The surprise of the nation’s patience to reach their goal was finding God himself.
When we encountered a major problem travelling back from Australia a few years ago, we didn’t know how much more we had to endure. One of the newest members of the church we attended then came swiftly to help us. That pleasantly surprised us.
What is the “certainty” of patience for you?
How do you deal with the “now” of patience before reaching your goal? Do you feel the “urgency“ of patience to relate the gospel to others while waiting? What have been “surprises” of your patience waiting for something in the past?
Job probably didn’t realise there was ever an end to his suffering. God did not leave him but at the end restored his household, and friendships with his advisors. The scripture surprised us further with how Job treated all his children with inheritance. (Job 42)
Not knowing when the end comes is probably the greatest test of patience. Stay faithful with God, pray about the situation, relate your faith with others, and God will surprise you.
