As
we finished Beth Moore’s ten-week Bible study on James, Mercy Triumphs, many messages continue to resonate, but one in particular has to do with patience.
In
chapter 5, verse 7, James writes, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters,
until the Lord’s coming.
Some
folks seem by nature to have a fuller tank when it comes to patience. Then
there are those who continually run about a quart low. I see myself leaning
more in the quart low direction…ready for God to fulfill all his promises
today.
Moore
writes, “…the point is not just getting us into our proverbial lands of promise
where we bear much fruit. The point is developing the spiritual muscle on our
way so once we receive it; we are strong enough to keep it. The hardest part of
possessing the land is defending it…Nothing in the visible realm is a greater
reality than the unseen battle raging over our heads.”
I’ve
heard those just starting their spiritual journey say, “I want to be like
(insert name of well known teacher/preacher).” And they want it right away. Yet,
none of us can ever be like anyone else, nor should we be. If we were to look
at the cost those well known teacher/preachers paid along the way to get where
they are, most would reevaluate their objectives.
“Be
patient….”
If
all were given us right now, the wheels would soon come off, and the doors
would break from the hinges. God knows when we’re ready. He alone knows when it’s
time.
Oswald Chambers writes, “Patience is more than endurance. A saint’s life is in the
hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at
something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and
again the saint says – ‘I cannot stand any more.’ God does not heed, He goes on
stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in
God’s hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your
relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. ‘Though He slay me, yet
will I wait for Him.’"
The
apostle Paul wrote, “I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians
3:14).
Let’s ask God to help us press on, making us patient in the process even
through stretching and straining, strengthened to hold on to all God gives us.