Patience

One of the most difficult task but yet one of the most successful is to wait on the Lord.
When I was a younger christian no matter how much I tell myself after a prayer that God will take care of the issue, yet I find myself getting worried.

It easy for one to advice another; be patient but in actually sense, Patience is a virtue that comes form the Holy Spirit. A good Christian should pray for patience with confidence that God is able to provide all your needs at the right time.

Psalm 37:7-9 describes Patience as; "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land." 

A delay many times is discouraging but one of the state of being spiritually mature is learning the difference between “no” and “not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV)

In the past instead of being Patient, I had sleepless nights, got upset and many times push or try to work it out myself, I guess God was watching me. Until one day, I was so sad, I could not utter the words anymore, I just simply said 'Lord, from my heart to your ears, nothing is impossible for you'.

Patience as listed in Galatians 5 is often called long-suffering. The original Greek word is makrothumio, meaning “long temper”. We are to keep a long and slow temper towards God, others and ourselves. This spiritual posture calls for grace. It is grace that compels us to trust God, grace that we can extend to others when they hurt us and grace to forgive ourselves when they stumble and fall.

An example of a man who displayed the virtue of long suffering, recorded in the Holy Bible is Job. Job was a rich man and blessed with family and friends. He would regularly sacrifice on behalf of his children after they got together for a feast in case they had sinned. But as you all know the story, Satan challenged God's blessings on Job by saying that Job would curse God if God took away those blessings. God permitted Satan to kill his children, take his possessions, and even inflict sickness on his body. Job's friends instead of comforting him, accused him of doing something wrong to deserve the judgment of God. But in the middle of this trial Job makes one of the strongest statements of faith we have in the Bible.

Job 1:21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Job was content to place his faith and fate in the hands of his Creator. Job recognized that God had the right to do anything in this universe because it is His Creation. But God would not allow Job to suffer without a just cause. Sometimes God uses trials to build our faith and to help us achieve a greater purpose. 

We should learn to be patient and wait on the Lord. The Lord will bring everything to justice andif we are willing to wait forever, we will not wait for long. God rescued Job and gave him double for his trouble. The Lord will do the same for us, if we are patient.

Finally lets keeps the words of Chuck Swindell in our hearts: "Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real test of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaing faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood. Whether you lead a family, a business or a Church, the temptation to complain comes easy. Thank God for the tough times, they're the reason you're here to be the leader. If everything was going well you wouldn't be needed. When the tough calls must be made, your confidence can be found in these words; "The Lord is on my side; i will not fear...".