Patience has not historically been one of my strong points. I remember when I was about 20 in college, I could not wait to get married. The only problem was I didn’t have anyone TO marry! I couldn’t stand the suspense, so I prayed and asked the Lord to just let me know my future wife, even if we weren’t ready to be married. This was a stupid thing for me to pray…essentially the same as praying for patience. I secretly thought that if I knew who God was going to bring for my wife, I could maybe speed things up a bit. (I’m sure this was pretty funny for God.) Well, I did meet my wife very shortly after that prayer, and I fell in love with her pretty early on. But God’s plans to work patience in me were not to be thwarted, and I had to wait 7 years before we finally married. I was stubborn and didn’t respond well to the waiting so I suffered a lot of unnecessary pain. In fact, the Lord did not work out our circumstances to marry until 6 1/2 years had passed, and I finally gave up trying to rush God’s plans for my life. Shortly thereafter, everything fell into place and we were engaged.
This same scenario has happened over and over again in my life to the point where I have begun to understand how purposefully God has been trying to work this quality into my nature. It was only this past year as I read a book on divine healing that I finally came to a personal understanding that patience is a Fruit of the Spirit, and a vital character trait of those who will walk with God. More than that, patience must be joined with faith in order to obtain the promises of God for our lives (see Hebrews 6:12).
I think our society tends to view patience as being peaceful and passive. While there is an element of this for sure, I believe that patience is much more than that. I looked up the definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, and have listed 2 of the definitions below which I believe to be inseparable as it relates to walking with God:
1st definition – Bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
6th definition – Steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
Probably the best way to express this idea is with another passage – Romans 8:25:
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
This passage joins together the necessity of ‘hoping’ and ‘waiting’. I share this today as a fresh word spoken from the Lord to myself. There are things I have been wanting and pursuing, and the Lord has made abundantly clear to me that he wants me to wait on his timing. Why? I dunno. Well, I know he is refining patience and trust in my heart. I know that when Abraham tried to rush the promises of God, he ended up with Ismael. The promised son (Isaac) came much later than he expected, and in a very miraculous way. Abraham learned to wait patiently, but not before he first took matters into his own hands attempting to fulfill God’s promise for him. Because of his impatience, 2 nations of people are locked in mortal combat to this day. For once in my life I am begining to understand what patience looks like. It is peaceful trust joined with hopeful expectancy. As you wait on the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life, may you experience the peace AND anticipation of God’s goodness.
