James 1:4
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Patience, is waiting with good hope for something better than what you can get in the "now". In a world where everything is geared towards instant gratification, it's hard to see people who are willing to wait and not give in to temptations to act according to their whims. It's always hard to wait, be it in a long queue at the grocery store, or at the traffic or for a promotion at work that you feel is long time due. It's painful, but patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit that God desires to produce in His children. To make matters worse, we often see that people all around us are “prospering” even without having to wait! Well, the Psalmist knows how that feels and asks us to be patient even in such situations (Psalms 37:7 - “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way..”)
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Patience, is waiting with good hope for something better than what you can get in the "now". In a world where everything is geared towards instant gratification, it's hard to see people who are willing to wait and not give in to temptations to act according to their whims. It's always hard to wait, be it in a long queue at the grocery store, or at the traffic or for a promotion at work that you feel is long time due. It's painful, but patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit that God desires to produce in His children. To make matters worse, we often see that people all around us are “prospering” even without having to wait! Well, the Psalmist knows how that feels and asks us to be patient even in such situations (Psalms 37:7 - “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way..”)
Hebrews 6:15
And so, after he (Abraham) had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
Abraham had to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise even after all the circumstances became humanly impossible. Joseph had to endure humiliation for extended periods of time, before he rose as a ruler as his God-given dreams came to pass. Moses had to wait till the strength of his youth faded, before he became the promised Deliverer of Israel. Mary and Martha waited for their brother's healing even until his death. But we know that all those seemingly "end-of-story" turned out to be the beginning of their breakthroughs. The Bible is full of such stories that shows that God's favor didn't come by in an instant to the heroes of faith, but it took years for the fulfillment of the promises, and in this painfully slow process, theylearnt to patiently wait for God to come through in their difficult and often impossible situations.
Here's a story from the internet:
Once, a king had announced that he wanted to appoint a new minister to serve in his kingdom. The people of the kingdom, who envisioned themselves as capable to be in the king's service, gathered in the palace, eagerly waiting to know what would be their test. The king led all those candidates to a small pond and said, "Whoever will fill this pond's water in this pot will be chosen as my minister. But remember, there is a hole in the pot."
Some people who wanted to merely test their luck, left without a single try, as they thought it's not worth the effort. While some people, who thought they were capable of accomplishing the task, tried for once, and some others for a couple more times before they gave up in exasperation saying, "The king has already chosen someone else. This must be an eye wash. Let's better quit this contest and save our time and energy."
But there was one man, who kept filling the pot with the pond water patiently. He filled the water in the pot to the brim and upon reaching the ground, he saw that the water was draining completely. He kept doing this again and again till there was no more water in the pond, to fill his pot! The man found a diamond ring in the empty pond and he gave it to the king. At this the king said, "This ring is a reward for your patience and hard work. You are fit for the job."
In the same way, we might think our test is to perform well in the area of life we often find ourselves struggling in, like "filling the pot", but who knows, the real test could be something else - maybe it’s a test of patient perseverance, or a process that God uses to produce in us the fruits of the Spirit, to make us more like His perfect Son, Jesus.
- Patience with family - When someone in your family asks for your help all the time without even being grateful, and you show your patient kindness through your actions, that's love.
- Patience with self - When you don't perform well, but you know that there's always a second chance and that you can do better next time through God's grace - that's confidence.
- Patience with others - When someone hurts you, and you don't hurt them back but you wish them well, and you show love to your enemies, that's respect.
- Patience with God - When you are waiting for God's help and you've been praying about your situation for years or decades now, and you still patiently trust His timing, that's faith.
- Patience with family - When someone in your family asks for your help all the time without even being grateful, and you show your patient kindness through your actions, that's love.
- Patience with self - When you don't perform well, but you know that there's always a second chance and that you can do better next time through God's grace - that's confidence.
- Patience with others - When someone hurts you, and you don't hurt them back but you wish them well, and you show love to your enemies, that's respect.
- Patience with God - When you are waiting for God's help and you've been praying about your situation for years or decades now, and you still patiently trust His timing, that's faith.
Great article.
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