Patience

Recently the Lord has been challenging me, teaching me to be patient. It caused me to have to sit down and really think about what patience was to me, what my definition was. Up until this point patience for me was simply a way of saying waiting, at most it meant waiting without complaining. Be patient seemed to be fairly simple, and I thought for the most part I was patient, but God disagreed. So I decided to do some research on it, you know, to prove God wrong. Turns out while my definition wasn't necessarily wrong, it also wasn't completely accurate. My definition was lacking probably the most important component to truly being patient when waiting. Here's some definitions, see if you can figure out what I was missing?: calm endurance, steady effort, steadfast despite opposition difficulty or adversity, bearing trials or pains calmly or without complaint, persevering, constant. Yeah, you guessed right, the big difference is effort, application, discipline, preparation. All of those are acceptable answers.

Ok so now we know what I should have been doing, what God was challenging me to do. But what had I been doing? Why was my definition so wrong in God's eyes? So once again I had to do some research, since I'm not nearly as smart as I like to tell myself I am, and I'm foolish enough to actually think I'm wise at times. After some soul searching I realized all I was doing is merely waiting, and the definition that described me best was complacent. Some definitions of complacent are: content to a fault, self satisfied and unconcerned, feeling of contentment or self satisfaction especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger trouble or controversy, .smug and uncritically satisfied with oneself or ones achievements. Not exactly the type of person I wanna be remembered as. One definition jumped out in particular, it said; feeling of contentment or self satisfaction especially when coupled with an UNAWARENESS of danger trouble or controversy. The reason it was so intriguing to me is because some of the synonyms I found for preparation were alertness and readiness. So now you see why that little part of the definition of patience that I had left out was so important. But don't take my word for it, lets see what God has to say about it.

In Hebrews 6:11-12 it says; We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Another example is James 5:7-11 it reads; Be patient, then brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 1 Peter 5:8 says we should ; be self controlled and alert. Then Hebrews 2:1 warns us; we must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

But the Bible doesn't just give us examples of patience, it also strongly warns us against complacency. In Amos 6:1-7 it states that those who have become complacent will be among the first to go into exile. In other words they will be banished, become men without a country, an outcast. Not an outcast of the world, but an outcast of God. Then in Zephaniah 1:4-13 it talks about how the Lord will destroy Judah for turning away from Him. It says; At that time I will search out Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, the Lord will do nothing, either good or bad. Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant vineyards but not drink the wine. Wow. now to get a better understanding we need to understand the term dregs of wine. now dreg is the sediment that settles at the bottom of a liquid. Now with wine this happens when it goes undisturbed for a long period of time. In other words he is warning against becoming idle, content to a fault with yourself. no changing, no effort, just being complacent, undisturbed, secure. Proverbs 1:20-33 warns against rejecting wisdom saying For the waywardness of the simple will kill them and the complacency of fools will destroy them. 1 Thessalonians verse 5:14 tells us to warn those who are idle. Idle is just another word for complacent. Dregs form in the wine because it is idle. The same way sin will build up in us if we become idle.

So when we are met with opposition, when we are forced to be patient, let us not linger and become idle, merely trying to wait it out. But let us be diligent, making the most of our time, preparing for the opportunity. Take it from me, I've learned from my own personal experiences that if you don't prepare during the time of waiting there's a good chance you won't be ready when the opportunity comes. There's also a chance that the opportunity will never come. So show a steady endurance when being patient. Those who have faith in what God has promised them will show their faith in their actions, by their preparation.