We live in an age of instant gratification. We have instant potatoes, instant rice, and instant pudding which actually isn’t bad. However, I remember the days of hand-cranked homemade ice cream. I would watch the salt melt the ice on the outside and imagine the taste of the ice cream melting on the inside of my mouth. I remember stirring the pudding on the stove until it was just the right consistency. It was worth the wait, but nobody wants to wait anymore.
I read a bumper sticker that said, “I want patience and I want it now!” But that is not how patience is obtained. “The trying of your faith produces patience!” James 1:3. Patience is the product of endurance.
Job 23:10
“…When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
Practical Application and Assignments:
Patience is an attitude that is slowly developed in a climate of suffering and irritating circumstances that are out of your control. If you know people who are unchangeable and problems that are unexplainable, you are a prime candidate for developing patience.
- List those things that irritate you the most and you will discover your most fertile ground in which patience can grow.
- Be blessed! Patience begins with a decision that you know in advance will be tested, but God honors and rewards endurance. “Blessed is the man that endures temptation.” James 1:12
- Read the entire book of Job. It is the incredible testimony of a man who is best known for his patience. Even when Job lost everything, he patiently maintained his trust in God.
- Learn to wait. Most of the time we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us. Wait expectantly, positively, quietly, and confidently because even when we can’t see it, feel it, or hear it, God is working in our behalf.
“Is your life is full of difficulties?… Then be happy for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.” James 1:2, (TLB)