Patience


Wait patiently for the Lord, be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

The Lord tells us that we are to become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of God. We are to have that simple childlike trust, even when we don’t fully understand what’s happening in our situation. We are to be childlike in believing that He is a faithful Father who can be trusted to keep His word to us. To be like a little child who says, “My Dad said so, therefore it’s true!”

However in the area of patience we can’t be childlike because a child hasn’t yet learned to be patient. “I want it now!” or “Are we there yet?” or “How many more sleeps till Christmas?” Today’s verse, and many others, exhort us to wait patiently for God to act. God’s timing for answering our prayers rarely fits into our preferred timeframe. We want answers now – not next month, next year, or in a few years. How do we learn to wait patiently for the Lord to act?

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that will develop as we learn to trust God more deeply and allow His character to be developed in us. Hebrews 6:10 speaks of following the example of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises. I can think of Moses who patiently, most of the time, led God’s people towards the promised land year after boring year. Actually his impatient anger with the complaining Israelites caused him to dishonour God and so he did not get to enter the land, but God did graciously allow him to see it from afar. Then there was Joseph who, it seems, patiently endured much hardship but finally saw the fulfilment of what he had dreamed as a young man.

We may know of Christians who have patiently waited for loved ones to come to faith in Christ – some died still waiting for their prayers to be answered (and they were). I waited (sometimes impatiently, sometimes in unbelief) for 20 years for God to fulfil a promise he had given me in 1976. How wonderful it was when I realised that I had the answer and how thankful I was that I had continued to believe that God would do what he had promised.

What is it that you are waiting to receive from God? Are you waiting patiently? Do you have a sense of peace that God will do what you’ve asked? Do you have a promise in His word you are holding onto? Remember that we are told in Philippians 4:6 that we are to make our requests know to God and be thankful. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Don’t give up, wait patiently for Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive my impatience. Help me to trust you and wait patiently for you, trusting in your faithfulness. Amen