I was reading my friend, Jill Stengl’s blog the other day and she said something that I loved, that made me think about this patience thing again. (If you want to read her blog, you might have to sign in, but it’s worth it.) She said:

“Lessons of patience wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t take so long to learn.”

Isn’t that the truth? :)

In the Bible, we notice the impatience of Abraham and Sarah as they waited for the promised child to be born. They got tired of waiting on God and took matters into their own hands. Ever wonder why the Arabs and Israelis don’t like each other much? A quick history lesson can trace those conflicts all the way back to Abraham’s and Sarah’s impatience.

We often sight the patience of Job, and with friends like his, I would agree he put up with a lot! Yet in his patience, I dare say, Job nearly lost hope. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.” (Job 7:6 NKJV) Loss of hope definitely puts a strain on patience.

David waited about 15 years from the time God promised through the prophet Samuel that he would be king until he actually ascended the throne. His supporters wanted him to kill the reigning monarch and take what was rightfully his. “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” (I Samuel 24:4 NKJV) But David, though he grew mighty discouraged, restrained his men, learned patience, and waited.

I think patience is a subject that often needs to be revisited. And I also think Jill Stengl is right – the trouble with patience is that it takes so long to learn!

When I’m wanting my way now, I’m not very open to waiting. And yet God in His great mercy is immensely patient with us, waiting for us to see the truth and come to repentance. Waiting for us to learn the patience of Christ as He endured the cross despising the shame. Waiting for us to trust Him with all our heart and not lean on what we think we understand.

I want so many things in life – I want good things for my husband and children. I want good health and sunny days. I want chocolate minus the calories and unending youthfulness. (Yes, I’m fighting the effects of aging like most women my age.) :)

I want to see my husband’s stress level eased. I want my kids’ dreams to come true. I want to see my books in print. I want to live to see the rapture of the church.

But most of these are temporal things – blessings God gives to enhance life’s journey. What I want more, when I’m honest and not being selfish and impatient, is to be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit. (I Peter 3:8 NASB) And patient with others, with myself, and with God’s timing. To hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!… enter into the joy of the Lord!”

I want these things more than life itself–I just wish the lessons that lead to them didn’t take so long to learn!