Practicing Patience

 

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord mis at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7-11 ESV).  

 

Wouldn’t it be foolish to plant some seeds for your vegetable garden one day and return the next day only to dig them up to see if they are really doing anything? Though that seems to be the practice of most of our patience. I must confess that I often do not practice patience. It has gotten a bit easier as I have aged, mostly because my “schedule” is relaxed significantly from the days when everything needed to be done immediately. All of us seem to expect immediate results. However, it is only when the fruit of patience is allowed to mature slowly will we ever taste its sweetness.

 

In The Way of Christian Living, a book on the fruit of the Spirit, John Timmerman relates his discovery of the essence of patience. He grew up in a house with a drafty bedroom, and his parents would close that room in the winter and use it only to store Christmas presents. John would sneak into that room and delicately shake each package to guess the contents. But whenever he went into that room, his mom and dad would notice the rush of cold air in the house, and they would catch him in the act. The presents had to wait until Christmas morning. John learned to wait even though he didn’t feel like it!

 

Patience involves waiting with anticipation. Just as the farmer waits for the rains to help grow his crops, so we wait with expectation for God’s promises to be fulfilled. Patience involves awaiting God’s time without doubting God’s love. This means waiting without worrying, complaining, or demanding that God should satisfy our timetable. It does take practice; and, like any other pursuit, we can never get better with the practice. Ask God to empower you with the strength and resolve to practice patience.