Patience

I and almost everyone I have ever known have at one time or another prayed for patience. Patience seems to be the one virtue that is in short supply.

So, what exactly is patience?  "The capacity to accept or to tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset."  Patience's immediate family members include Perseverance, Persistence, Endurance, Tenacity, Determination, and Resolve.  They reside in the neighborhood of No Whining and live on the streets named Never Give Up, Never Give In, and Never Give Out.

Playfulness aside, we desperately need patience.  Why?  To press on to maturity or as John Wimber so eloquently said, "To grow up before we grow old."

I do have my own definition of patience - WAITING.

Think about life for a minute.  A tremendous portion of each and every day is spent playing the "waiting game."  We wait for football season to start, payday to arrive, meals to be served, and to check out when shopping or to check in on vacation.  We wait for our coffee to brew and our pizza to bake (or be delivered).  We wait for summer to arrive and for school to start.  We wait for Christmas or Valentine's Day or our birthday/anniversary in anticipation of spending time with the family and maybe even a cool gift or two, and then we often spend time waiting on the family to arrive for the party or FedEx to deliver the gift.  We wait on homes to be sold and on loans to buy homes and other things.  We wait on babies to be born and on others who are suffering to pass.  We anticipate our babies' first words and steps, and then when they are grown, we longingly look forward to their infrequent visits.  Waiting is living.  Living involves waiting.

Waiting doesn't bother us most of the time, but if we have to wait for a long time or a really long time, we don't fare so well.  In fact, sometimes we morph into the animals that we are.  Just check in to the nearest Chick-fil-A drive thru at about 11:45 or the car tag/drivers' license line that's winding all the way down the hall on the last day of the month or sit longer than fifteen minutes in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

God has built this "waiting game" into life, into each of our spiritual journeys to grow us up, to strengthen our faith, to make us into the "little Christs" (definition of the word Christian) He designed us to be.  To quote Adam Russell:  "We were not made for comfort but for greatness."  The "greats" had to wait without becoming offended with God.

How then should we wait?

With ATTITUDE!

What kind of attitude?

EXPECTATION of God's goodness - with FAITH/BELIEF.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God MUST BELIEVE that God is and that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him."  (Hebrews 11:6)  In other words, we must believe in God and believe that HE IS GOOD not just when life is good, but when life is bad.  If we live long enough, life will have bad moments, sometimes really bad moments.  Regardless, God is good ALWAYS even when life isn't.

Many of the "legends" in the Bible waited patiently a long time to see God's goodness, to see His promises become reality.  Some never received in this life what was promised, yet they diligently believed and obeyed until the end.  They were neither sluggish nor dull.  They took hold of hope in the goodness of God and His promises.  That hope, that faith, that belief became the anchor for their souls.  They had attitude.

Their waiting was not  a passive, "I'll sit right here until something lands in my lap."  No way! 

• They trusted.
• They believed.
• They sought God.
• They expected His goodness to be revealed.
• They looked forward with hope and faith.
• They hung on for dear life
• They worshipped in spite of circumstances.

This is the kind of attitude, life style that pleases God.

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it [faith and hope], the men of old gained approval and pleased God."  (Hebrews 11:12)

• They were looking for God, seeking Him and His plans for their life.
• They expected Him to come and to be faithful.
• They were moving forward, closer to Him every day and loving and honoring Him more and more each day.
• They were laying down their chains, their sins.
• They were running with endurance, not walking, the race God had set before them.  They weren't doing their own thing.
• They did not lose heart or grow weary or complain [most of the time].
• They held fast and believed in God and His goodness.
• They hoped and didn't waver.

Why?

Because "He who promised IS faithful."  (Hebrews 10:23 - 12:1)

Yes, God's school is a waiting room.  It is also a testing room.  I did say "testing" room.  Faith isn't truly ours until we do something with it.  For us to "do" something with our faith, we have to have a "have not" that tests us and everything we believe. 

If we pass the tests, those struggles/conflicts strengthen everything within us and change us into more of what God designed us to be.  Ultimately, that is what we all want - change - genuine, lasting change.  Maturity.

Let me share a secret.  GOD WAITS TOO!  Yes, He patiently and lovingly waits for us to seek Him and to love Him.  He stands waiting just like the good and patient father in the story of the prodigal son.  He waits for us to come home and become a part of the family.  I believe He also sheds tears just like Jesus did over those who have lost their way.  May we all find our way back home.

"But let patience (perseverance) finish its perfect work so that you may be perfect/mature and entire/complete, not lacking anything."  (James 1: 4)