Oh Patience, I Need You!
It’s an understated & annoying word, one that none of us truly likes or even remotely enjoys. It’s something that makes us want to scream & yet we know we have to endure it. Oh, patience, how we need more of you! Have you ever shared these feelings with me? Well, they are common & often misunderstood by others. We hear so much about the amazing message of faith, but often too little about its other partner quite necessary to bring about results!
All of us enjoy hearing about instant miracles & prayer requests that come about almost as fast as they are uttered from our lips. Glorious as they are, more often than not, results to our prayers are usually seen over a period of time. The truth is that God’s time table and our time table seem to be on two different tables, if you know what I’m saying. Well, if one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, then I guess we may not quite get His timing yet anyway. (2 Peter 3:8)
I’m also sure that, all the while, He is working in us to will and to do His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) So, let’s take a little deeper look at this word called patience. I like to describe our prayers like a little boy going fishing! What you want is the fish, the great cast into the water is your faith & the time it takes to get it to the shore is your patience. I guess that might mean that the bigger the fish, the longer the reel!
We were on Brooke’s ranch in Texas a few summers ago when I caught an 8 pound bass; believe it or not it’s true! The story is quite funny! We were down at their pond, caught our own crickets & were having a ball pulling in little fish. Right before we left, I gave another cast & thought I was snagged on the bottom. I kept pulling & pulling, then all of the sudden I saw the big ol’ belly of a bass & started screaming. That’s when the battle started, we all were yelling & Russ ran for the net. It seemed like forever, but at the end of the day he was caught. By the end of the night, that catch was in our tummies!
I got hold of something big, but it just didn’t come in as easy as those small fish were caught. That big bass came in with a battle, which sounds like what we call…“The good fight of faith”. Gal 6:9 says, “And be not weary in well doing, for in due season you will reap, if you faint not.” What? You will have the desires of your heart. Yes, unless you faint & drop the pole! That means we must have patience until we see the promise. It’s just like fishing for me! You have to rest in knowing that the fish is on the line. You may not see it yet, as it’s under the water, but you know it’s on the line & on its way to you! That sounds like prayer found in1 John 5:15. “And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” You could also say it like this, “Once I pray, Heaven is at work.” I may not see it in this realm, but I have locked hold in the Heavenly realm & my patience brings it forth into an earthly manifestation. That is faith & patience working together!
Although we may not like it, patience is an amazing and beautiful gift from God! Heb 6:12 says we are to be followers of them who through faith & PATIENCE inherit the promise. It’s far from being idle, it’s actively trusting & knowing God is at work. All in all, it’s what keeps us from fainting. It’s the line that you can’t let go of until you see, with these eyes, what you have desired from God. I believe His Word & I believe it 100%. That means that if I do not faint, or let go of my pole, I will have what I have asked Him in prayer. It’s not God’s fault if we set down the pole, he has no choice but to let that big one get away.
So, today is your day! Either keep on reeling or pick the pole back up! You have what you asked of Him, which means it’s on the line if you see it with these eyes or not! God is the same…yesterday, today & forever! He wants to give you your desires, but he needs you to be patient, until the fish is in the net!
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