Who Has Time For Patience?

James 5:8 NIV

"You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near."

You are standing in line, and the cashier is talking to everyone around her and slowly scanning each item.  How patient are you? 

You are waiting for Friday to get here because the weekend cannot get here soon enough.  Friday finally arrives, and your boss calls a Friday afternoon emergency meeting.  How patient are you?
Your are saving for that dream vacation next year.  You are sitting back and waiting on that perfect fish to bite.  You are enjoying your favorite movie.  You actually are enjoying time with family.  Are you impatient?

The pastor calls on everyone to come and spend time in prayer.   Ten minutes go by and you are done.  How patient are you then?  Does waiting on God make you impatient?  Does taking time to listen and hear from God unnerve you?

Being patient means we should learn how to wait through long periods of time - even in suffering.  Watching my grandmother die was agonizing.  Spending eleven days in the hospital due to an accident caused in a surgical outpatient procedure was unbearable.  Waiting for my throat doctor to call and let me know whether I had cancer or not was unnerving (a few years ago and the answer was not).

These periods of suffering came and went.  Patience made the difference.  Even for those who suffer throughout their lives, patience leads to eternity.  James also says we should stand firm in our faith.  Why?  God is full of compassion and mercy. 

Without patience are we really waiting on God to bring about something miraculous or wonderful or amazing?  To stand firm in faith we need stability and the strength given through Christ.

I cannot telling you when Jesus will return.  Each day we are a day closer.  The longer it takes the more patient we have to be.  The longer it takes the more firm we need to be in our faith.  Future generations will depend on this.  I know this because the prophets of the Old Testament remained faithful and future generations benefited from it. 

Day by day take time to get close to God.  Read His Word.  Talk to Him about what you read.  Write your thoughts.  Then share them for clarification.  Search the Bible for more answers and speak to God.  This grows patience and a strong faith.   Let me know in a couple of weeks how this works out.  In the mean time, I will keep sharing what I am learning.