Patience
James 5:7-8
7Be 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. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
I’ve been reflecting on patience a lot these last few days. It’s been hard because I’ve been riding this high since coming to Christ and my joy and satisfaction has been like a dam that has broken and has overflown into the floodplain. But all the turbulence and exuberance has begun to smooth out as equilibrium settles in and now I find that now I need to start being active and disciplined in faith. That in and of itself is hard for me, I’ve never been that patient of a person. I’m very much a creature of our american fast food culture to where I want everything to be delivered post-haste. Why can’t sanctification have the option of next-day shipping? But I find that the more time in Scripture I spend, the more the idea of patience, long suffering and toil are very much a part of the process. That’s a hard pill for me to swallow.
And this carries into my life outside my personal relationship with Christ. The good side of it is that God has given me a zeal for the Word of God and to see others come to know Him and find their best fulfillment in Him. But, I want it to happen quickly. Or, I learn something about the nature of God and have a great joy in it and want to share it with those who do not know Him, or just aren’t that far in their understanding and so the conversation doesn’t fulfill me because they can’t go as deep into the text as I can and adapt it as quickly as I do. This is a great burden to me, but also is an internal rebuke to myself because why should I expect everything to happen immediately? Didn’t God use the last 28 years of my life to bring me to Christ? Nearly three decades He worked on me, suffered patiently with me in order that I may receive Christ gladly, broken and meek before the throne of Christ.He bought me for His glory, not mine and in the end I bring nothing to the table. But out of sheer mercy He called me into His presence so that I might know Him, glorify Him in everything I do and seek Him in patience as a farmer waits patiently for the crops to grow for harvest.
Like I said, it’s a hard pill to swallow, to humble myself and submit to the hard work of sanctification and allowing God to work in His perfect timing and according to His perfect plan of redemption. But in this, I can take assurance in the fact that He is working in me to be eternally minded and reminding me that He is in control. Not me. Not ever me. But He will complete the work that He started in me and in the others who are in my prayers, because He is above all things faithful, and He will do it for the Glory of His name! God be praised, I must be patient and wait on the Lord to fulfill His promises!
