THE CHRISTIAN VIRTUE CALLED PATIENCE (PART 1)
TEXT
"For ye have need of patience, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise", (Hebrews chapter 10 verse 36, King James Version).
Many people have done terrible things in life out of impatience. Patience is a Christian virtue that is needed to sustain us until God shows up in our situation. To be patient in the face of trials is basically to mean that you believe God in spite of the adverse situations around you.
The word patience is a combination of two Greek words, "UPO", meaning “under”, and "MENO", meaning "to remain". In other words, patience is the ability to remain under a situation until God gets you out of it. We need this ability (patience) in our lives as Christians because our moment of trials is one that's full of satanic options that are hurled across our paths. The aim of satan at that moment is to derail the Child of God by getting him out of God's will. But patience is that cheerful, hopeful endurance of your present state in life until the answer to your prayers comes through. Such moments can be truly sweet
According to William Shakespeare, "How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees". Patience has been recognized as the best remedy for every trouble of life, be it physical or otherwise. What patience will achieve for us, force can never! Patience is the art of continuously hoping and waiting until the "expected" shows up.
God expects us to be patient, hence the Holy Spirit imparts patience to us as fruit (Galatians chapter 5 verse 22). In other words, every Child of God is at conversion impacted with it by the Spirit of God. No one in Christ is deficient in this regard. Patience is one of those graces of Christ that we've been blessed with by God to enable us to function in life according to His will for us. What we need to do is to put it to work when we come across challenges of life that are calling for immediate response from us.
Truth is, while we are patient with God, He's busy in the background putting things together for us. Isn't that the reason for Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11? The King James Version says that "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:"
Yes, there's time for everything under the heavens (Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 1); and there's God's time for everything. The Good News rendering of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11 is insightful. It says,
“He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does.”
While we are blessed with a desire to know the future but the Lord "never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does", I think it's wise to be patient with Him and to wait while He paints the big picture of our lives for us to admire. It may take time, but it's worth the wait.
He that learns to be patient will eventually conquer his mountains of life. According to William Penn, "Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains."
Nothing is as satisfying and soothing as having God's perfect will performed in one's life. Had Abraham and Sarah been patient enough, they would have been spared the troubles that came with having Ishmael.
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, I thank you for the fruit of patience that you have imparted into my spirit. As I wait patiently, I believe that you will perform that which I believe you for, in Jesus' mighty name.