“The Scriptures contain many stories of people who waited years or even decades before the Lord’s promises came to pass. What modern believers can learn from the patience of biblical saints like Abraham, Joseph, David, and Paul is that waiting upon the Lord has eternal rewards.”

 

-Charles Stanley

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about patience lately. It is a virtue after all, or so they say. It’s also fascinated me that more times than not, when talking to someone about this topic, they will 9 out of 10 times say something like, “Oh man, don’t ever pray for patience. You’re asking for it if you do. The Lord may just take you up on that and test you!” Now I realize this is all in good fun, but I’ve often wondered if there truly is a bit of apprehension and misunderstood theology in their words.

 

You see, patience is a fruit of the Spirit that is to be sought after and developed as part of our sanctification process (aspiring to be more like Christ daily). In fact, I’d like us to consider two of the many uses of patience spoken of in Scripture. Then maybe we can have a healthier conscience and confidence moving forward thinking about it this week. The Psalmist speaks of waiting patiently for the Lord. “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help (Ps. 40:1).” What’s the context here. King David goes to the Lord with eager expectation and full assurance that God will act. He’s able to wait on the Lord, knowing that he can trust God’s sufficient care and help. But catch this…he understood that it was in God’s own timing and for His own gracious purposes. Hence, David waited patiently.

 

The second has to do with patience being that of long-suffering with others around us. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-2, “Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,” And again in Col. 3:12, “Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another.”

These things are to be “put on” as character qualities for the purpose of being long-suffering and bearing with one another. Having patience toward a fellow brother or sister in Christ, family, friend, or foe allows us to live peacefully with others. Not to mention lower our blood pressure and incidences of road rage????.

 

So, this week, don’t merely think of patience as a bad word in Christian language. Praise the Lord that He gives you opportunity to exercise patience as you wait on Him and as you deal with others on a daily basis.

 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of learning how to be patient and longsuffering. Give me opportunities this week to exercise patience as a fruit of the Spirit. I desire to be more and more like Jesus every day. Amen

 

Blessings,

Clay

 

Clayton J. Elliott Pastoral Ministries and Prayer, Kontaktmission USA clay@GoKMUSA.org

 

Here are current prayer requests from KM missionaries

 

From the KM missionary team in Herne, Germany. “We thank the LORD for the wonderful development of the church plant here in Herne. The International Christ Center is growing steadily. The LORD himself is bringing in people of many nationalities to worship with us. We are very grateful to him for his work and to you for your prayers. We look forward to the rest of 2018 full of eager expectation.”

 

From a KM missionary working in Sweden. “We hope to convert a big old building in North Sweden into a guesthouse for people in need. Please pray for the personnel and finances for this project. Preparations for mission outreach are in high gear. We plan to have mission booths in various markets in northern Sweden. Please pray that the teams will come together and be successful in reaching people with the gospel. Pray that God’s Spirit will move and bring revival in Sweden.”

 

From the KM missionary team working in Thessaloniki, Greece. “We thank God for the congregation. Please pray for growth. There are a lot of people we have been working with for a long time—please pray they will take the step of faith to follow Jesus. Pray for guidance, wisdom and resoluteness from God as we seek to reach more people with the gospel.”