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Religion
"Patience"
By Pastor Stacy Williams
web
posted April 22, 2009
RELIGION – I came across this scripture
the other day. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 reads, Now we exhort you,
brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold
the weak, be patient with all. In this passage, Paul is
instructing the people of the church in Thessalonica in some of the
ways they should act. He encourages them to try to teach those who
behave badly to change their actions. He tells the church to comfort
those who are afraid, and to defend those who are weak. He then adds
that we should be patient with everyone.
I was doing pretty well until he dropped “patient” in there. Part of
what I do for a living is teaching people how to act as a Christian. I
try to provide comfort for those who are afraid or are in the middle of
a crisis. I will always stand up for those who do not have the courage
or strength to do so themselves. Why did he have to add patience, when
I was doing so well in all the other categories? When God was handing
out patience, I apparently thought the line was too long and decided to
not wait. I want things to happen when I want them to happen. I find it
very hard to wait on anything.
If I am sitting in my car trying to turn left onto a busy road, I would
rather turn right and travel 2 miles out of my way and then make a
u-turn, than to sit and wait on an opportunity to turn left. If someone
asks to meet with me later to discuss something, I want to know what it
concerns right then.
However, I am pretty sure I’m not in the minority on this. I think we
are all less patient than we used to be. In this “instant
gratification” society that we live in, we have become a nation of
impatient, hurried people. We get up in the morning, to the sound of
our alarm clocks. The coffee maker has already made the coffee. We grab
something out of the freezer and throw it in the microwave for
breakfast or we drink our breakfast shake from a can. We put on
wrinkle-free clothes so we won’t have to iron. Get into our cars and
speed so we won’t be late to work. Get to work and try to endure until
lunch. We then go to a drive-thru where we are upset if it takes more
than 3 minutes to get our food, and rush back to work. Get the idea? We
have many time-saving things in our lives, but we are more impatient
than ever!
Why is this? Could it be that it is not a “time” problem, but a
“spiritual” one? In Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2
Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter all
exhort us to be patient with others, but more importantly, with God.
Doesn’t it stand to reason, if the Word of God has that much to say
about patience, that we should heed His instruction?
Whenever we get out of sync with God in any aspect of life, the part
where we are failing is the part where we experience God’s presence the
least. If we are not in God’s will in certain actions, He will be
there, but He will be hard to see or feel. Therefore, because we have
taken that aspect of our life from Him, He lets us feel the effects of
our sinfulness.
We all have the same amount of time each day. We all have certain goals
and objectives that we want to meet. However, when we do not give these
things over to God, it creates a crisis for us. Crisis results in
frustration and frustration results in a lack of patience. We want to
make others the scapegoat for our own lack of spiritual maturity. Think
about it. When was the last time you were impatient with yourself?
Aren’t you most times impatient with someone else? Being impatient,
therefore, is blaming someone else for your problem and that, my
friend, is sin.
If we are indeed children of God, then we must try to emulate Him. We
need to cultivate a personality of kindness, gentleness, understanding
and patience. So the next time that person in the car in front of you
sits through the green light, pray for them and thank God for granting
you a moment to slow down and talk to Him.
Be
patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer
waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for
the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm,
because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other,
brothers, or you will be judged. (James 5:7-9 NIV)
All are welcome join us for worship at Edgefield First Baptist Sunday
mornings at 11 AM and every second Sunday of the month at 6 PM, for our
casual contemporary service that we call CAPTIVATE. For more
information call us at 803-637-6139 or visit our website where you will
find weekly activities, church information, or even listen to sermons
online. Our web address is www.edgefieldfirstbaptist.org
For all
past articles please visit our Archives
© Copyright 2009
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
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