Patience's Perfect Work
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).”
It’s 12:30 AM and the baby is still crying. You’re 10 minutes late and the traffic is not moving. You’ve been waiting in the restaurant for an hour and the food is still not coming. Sound like fun? Not really, but all of these situations are opportunities in life to learn patience.
Patience is a very valuable quality that is rare to find. We live in a fast-food society where everyone is looking for instant gratification, but God’s Word instructs us to seek and desire patience. Patience enables to wait a long time for a desired outcome. It was patience that enabled Job to triumph in his trial (James 5:11), and it is patience that will enable us to do the same. Patience is not always attractive on the outside, but it is instantly valuable. Ask God to make you a patient person!
God has been speaking to me about patience a lot this week, as I know that I am often times very impatient! My wife and I had a few challenging nights with our six month old son this week, where he cried and cried for hours at a time instead of sleeping (most likely due to teething). The temptation is there to grow frustrated and upset, but it is also an opportunity to learn how to deal with difficulty in a God-honoring way.
Of course, crying babies and traffic jams are minor issues in the big picture of our spiritual lives, but the way we deal with these little things is important. The Scripture tells us to let patience have its perfect work, and from these words we understand that patience is a process. Learning to be patient in minor, everyday things will give us the patience we need when long trials and difficulties come. We cannot pray, “God give me patience, and give it to me right now!” Instead, we need to allow the process of patience to be worked deeply in our lives.
So let’s learn not to rush but to always ask God for His patience instead. We serve a patient, longsuffering God and we should follow this good example. Learn to wait in every aspect of your life. Perhaps you need to wait for acceptance into a school, or for a possession that you really think will help you. Many of you may need to wait for the mate God has in store for you. In all of these issues and more, seek that patience will have its perfect work in you. True patience will never disappoint.
It’s 12:30 AM and the baby is still crying. You’re 10 minutes late and the traffic is not moving. You’ve been waiting in the restaurant for an hour and the food is still not coming. Sound like fun? Not really, but all of these situations are opportunities in life to learn patience.
Patience is a very valuable quality that is rare to find. We live in a fast-food society where everyone is looking for instant gratification, but God’s Word instructs us to seek and desire patience. Patience enables to wait a long time for a desired outcome. It was patience that enabled Job to triumph in his trial (James 5:11), and it is patience that will enable us to do the same. Patience is not always attractive on the outside, but it is instantly valuable. Ask God to make you a patient person!
God has been speaking to me about patience a lot this week, as I know that I am often times very impatient! My wife and I had a few challenging nights with our six month old son this week, where he cried and cried for hours at a time instead of sleeping (most likely due to teething). The temptation is there to grow frustrated and upset, but it is also an opportunity to learn how to deal with difficulty in a God-honoring way.
Of course, crying babies and traffic jams are minor issues in the big picture of our spiritual lives, but the way we deal with these little things is important. The Scripture tells us to let patience have its perfect work, and from these words we understand that patience is a process. Learning to be patient in minor, everyday things will give us the patience we need when long trials and difficulties come. We cannot pray, “God give me patience, and give it to me right now!” Instead, we need to allow the process of patience to be worked deeply in our lives.
So let’s learn not to rush but to always ask God for His patience instead. We serve a patient, longsuffering God and we should follow this good example. Learn to wait in every aspect of your life. Perhaps you need to wait for acceptance into a school, or for a possession that you really think will help you. Many of you may need to wait for the mate God has in store for you. In all of these issues and more, seek that patience will have its perfect work in you. True patience will never disappoint.
posted by Cameron at 7:27 PM
0 comments
