Patience…oooo it’s such a yucky little word. It’s a virtue that seems very difficult to embrace. Do we have to be patient? Well, I think as we take a little glance into the heart of God today, we will all agree that this one little word can change our entire worlds. It is simply a requirement in bringing forth the promises of God.
I was so challenged this week while reading a post from Dr. T.L. Osborn on Lk 8:11-15. So often we think of sowing and reaping in terms of giving, but this sure brings out an insightful new dimension for us. The sower wasn’t sowing money, though that is an invaluable lesson, he was sowing the Word. Ding, ding, ding! Let’s stop right there a moment.
Patience in bringing for the promise is only good if the Word has first been sown. If not, there is nothing spoken into the earth for the Holy Spirit to act upon, so nothing can take place. Now, that’s not good because we know that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” in Pr 13:12. We have to find God’s promises in his Word, put them into our hearts until revelation comes and then speak them forth with power.
Ahhh… then presto, instant results! Well, I wish it was just like Jack and the Bean Stalk with an instant harvest, but usually it’s not that way. If we take a look into creation itself, we see seasons in operation. There is a time to plant, water, wait and reap. That means there is a season to simply be patient.
Right now is an exciting time in the U.S.A.! Harvest is here and the farmer’s markets are full. We just had our first home grown tomatoes of the season. Yum, I wait all year for a true ripe tomato sandwich. Although it didn’t happen overnight, we were sure they would arrive when their time was right. Is it any different in God’s Kingdom?
In Lk 8:15 we see that the harvest was brought forth with patience. One of my favorite passages is Isaiah 55. It holds a beautiful reminder for us all. Just like spring time and harvest, so goes the Word of the Lord once spoken. It will not return void, but will accomplish all it was sent to do! Glory to God! That means that once the Word is spoken a promise has to come forth.
I do however see something in the Word that can hinder what we have prayed from happening. What is it? It is our lack of patience. When we lose heart in waiting, we often get weary and stop trusting. The Bible clearly says in Gal 6:9, “Be not weary in well doing for in due season you will reap IF you faint not”. That alone, not the enemy, can stop our harvest.
So what should we do? We must remember that there is no need to be weary in waiting, because God’s Word is true. The seed of His Word in the ground is the most powerful plant in the earth! It has to spring forth!
As much as we don’t like it, patience also has a something to accomplish in us. Ja 1:4 says, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”. I think it makes us more like Him and isn’t He… oh, so patient with us!
So, I want to encourage you today. Just like there is seed time and harvest in the earth, so it is with God’s promises in your life. Speak the Word forth and then simply be patient, while resting and trusting that God is at work. Your promise will surely come to pass!