The waiting is the hardest part
Have you ever noticed how often the authors of Scripture exhorted their readers toward patience?
Here are a few examples:
Love is patient… (1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love… (Ephesians 4:1-2 ESV)
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13 ESV)
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (1 Thessalonians 5:14 ESV)
When we think of patience, we often think of waiting out trials or sufferings. And, there are passages of Scripture that encourage us toward that type of patience and perseverance.
However, the passages above have something in common: they all relate to being patient with one another.
Which do you think is easier: 1) being patient for God to work in the middle of difficult circumstances, or 2) being patient for God to work in the lives of the people around you?
Alan,
You need to repent. NOW! 🙂
I think #1 is easier because we perceive that manipulating other people is easier than manipulating God. Dealing with other people is immediate. We can see their reactions on the spot. We can always “force” other people into our way of thinking, but we can’t do that with God. You can’t hold a gun to God’s head.
Where did you hear that Tom Petty song?
Steve,
I don’t remember where I heard that Petty song first. But, my favorite time hearing it was at a Tom Petty concert.
I agree that it’s harder to be patient with people…
-Alan
Alan,
I like Tertullian’s definition: “Hope is patience with a lamp lit”.
Patience and hope are inseparable.
Aussie John,
I agree. I’ve found it’s easier to wait/hope in my own life, and wait/hope for others.
-Alan
Definitely #2. I find that I can trust God’s timing when my own circumstances a lot easier than I can when it’s other people he is working in. That’s when I want him to hurry up.