Inspiration God had promised to multiply the seed of
Abraham. It was not until
twenty-five years later that his son Isaac was born. Abraham was old; Sarah was barren; but
Abraham waited patiently, trusting in the promise of God. Twenty-five years…now that is
patience! Compare that with the mood
of today, which is for instant everything.
Even our high-speed computers and our fast food are too slow. We have instant messaging so why not
instant prayer? Why wait twenty-five
years for an answer to prayer?
When a father asked for an instant education for
his son who didn’t want to complete four years of college, the president
replied, “Certainly, but of course it all depends on what you want to make
of your boy. When God wants to make
an oak tree, He takes a hundred years.
When he wants to make a squash, He takes only two months."
Patience is love at work
Patience is a mother who loves her small child
even after he has spilled milk on himself and on the clean tablecloth. Patience is a father teaching his son to
drive an automobile without getting angry at him for his every wrong
move. Patience is the man in his
wheelchair and the woman in her walker thanking God for their blessings and
bearing their hardships with a smile.
Patience is what God must have in dealing with
us every day.
Patience is waiting for someone. For the Christian, it is waiting for
Jesus Who will appear to take us unto Himself, to usher in the fullness of
His Kingdom, at which time there will be no more need of patience.
Patience is not
inactivity. Patience hustles while
it waits. It is dynamic. It bears
things because it knows that God is in control. Patience is cooperating with God as He
works out His plan for my life.
We need to
be patient with ourselves--never giving up to despair or self pity but
leaning more firmly on Christ. We need to be patient with others—if
we could see the invisible wounds that others suffer how patient we would
be with them! And God is patient with us—“If I were God,” someone said, “and
the world had treated me as it has treated Him, I would kick the wretched
thing to pieces.” But not God. His patience endures.
And how do we gain patience?
1. “We rejoice in our
suffering, knowing that suffering produces patience” (Rom. 5:3) Patience does not
come from a prescription or a pill.
It comes from suffering. So
when you pray for patience and you see that your life is filled with even
more trouble than before, thank God for all the opportunities He gives you
to learn patience.
2. Patience is not a human
achievement. It is a fruit of the
Holy Spirit; a virtue we receive when we live in Christ. If Shakespeare were in us, what poetry we
could write. If Beethoven were in
us, what music we could compose. If
Christ were in us, what a life we could live! But you can not have an indwelling
Shakespeare or Beethoven, but you can have an indwelling Christ and through
His power, you can have patience.
3. A person with many
injuries from an accident asked his doctor, “how long will I have to lie
here in this hospital?” The doctor
replied, “Only one day at a time.”
All of life is lived one day at a time and with each day comes God’s
love and God’s strength to bear even the heaviest of burdens.
Taken
from Treasures from Paul’s Letters, Vol. 2 by Rev. Anthony M.
Coniaris, Light & Life Publ. Co., 1979
