DO THIS! (PART 4)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14c

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Patience.

It’s something that seems to be a constant struggle for us as God’s people, right?

At the core of impatience is our unwillingness to wait and living in a society where we can get things instantaneously doesn’t help.

You want food quickly?

Just go through a drive through at a fast food restaurant and pick it up or go into anyplace that has grab-and-go options.

You want money without going into a bank?

There’s an ATM almost everywhere these days where you can get cash in a flash.

You want to pick up snacks or drinks without wading into a large grocery store?

We have convenience stores that are much smaller and let you get in and get out.

Tired of sitting in traffic?

We now have express lanes that will allow you to fly by people sitting in gridlock for a fee.

And now, we find self-checkout lines being all the rage in almost every retail outlet you go to.

Why have they become so popular?

Because stores are making money hand and fist off of people’s impatience. People would rather check themselves out than wait for a store employee to serve them.

Yes, impatience is a big problem and unfortunately, our worldly reluctance to wait spills over into our spiritual life. For how many believers today, pray to the Lord over a need they have or an intercession for someone else and expect that a result will happen right away?

Too many, I’m afraid.

You see, the ways of the world often allow us to control whether or not we will wait or not. We have a choice.

But we don’t control the Lord. We never dictate terms to Him as if He is somehow subordinate to us. Rather, He hears our petitions and acts in His perfect time and His perfect way. And sometimes, He makes us wait because He is trying to teach us patience, one of His fruits of the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

If you struggle with patience, turn it over to the Lord and ask for Him to produce more of that fruit in you. He will always bring a harvest into your life and when he does, you will find one more application of patience come into play.

For you will see that you are patient in your dealings with people, especially people who seem to test your level of tolerance.

We all know someone like this, right?

Maybe they are a family member or a co-worker or even someone in your church. Internally, you have developed such a degree of aggravation with that person who seems to always get under your skin that you try to just avoid them as if it will somehow correct the root problem of impatience with people. But avoidance doesn’t really fix anything because the problem isn’t the person you are steering clear of. The problem is really you.

Need an example?

I was teaching a small group at my church and we gained a new member. He would come into class and immediately started to dominate the discussions. No matter what I was taking about as a theme, he found the need to chime in and this didn’t sit well with one of the longer term group members.

That member came up to me after class several weeks after the new person had joined us and complained, insisting that I do something to stop the other person’s in-class behavior. He was the only one who had an issue with it.

As I always do, I let the Spirit form my response and told the complaining member that he should work to develop patience and tolerance. I suggested that the new member, known to be very introverted socially, had a need to be heard and perhaps the only time he felt comfortable in expressing himself was in our small group, a group where I encouraged participation. It was healthy for the new member as he was not only able to speak about his thoughts but also feel he was a part of our group.

Further, I suggested to the veteran member that if this person would leave our group, another person might join like him and if that happened, the complaining would just regenerate. Or there was a real possibility that the veteran member might encounter other people like the man who aggravated him in different settings outside the church. No matter the place or the time or the circumstances, my point was that the impatience would return unless it was addressed through the Lord, the only One who can help us overcome the things we struggle with in life.

Are you like this man who was in my small group, a proclaiming Christian who has a real problem with dealing with certain types of people?

Perhaps you need to heed the command from the Lord that is the fourth such order found in the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians. It simply demands that we “be patient with everyone” and when God says “everyone” that means every single person. There isn’t an option to not be patient with anyone.

My prayer today is that you will take the time to identify your weaknesses in this area. Think about the people who you have difficulty dealing with and ask the Lord to give you an injection of spiritual patience. He will always deliver.

And one final question and thought on this matter before I close. First the question:

How many times have you given the Lord reason to be impatient with you?

Maybe you don’t want to answer that.

Friends, like the ancient Israelites, we have failed our God over and over and over again, and yet, He still loves us and shows us a grace more amazing than we can comprehend. If He can show this level of patience towards us, we can (and need to) show it to anyone He brings into our life.

He calls us to be patient with everyone and with His help, we can do just that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com