Lord, will I ever have patience?
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!...” (NIV) Psalm 130:1-8
I remember the time I spent in ministerial school as I studied to be a gospel preacher. It seemed that the time to graduate was in the distance …far distance. I had to learn patience before I could learn anything else. But we all see impatience on a daily basis, especially if you have small children! They want things now! They want to know when we are going to get there if we are traveling! They are constantly asking if we are there yet & it seems they ask every five minutes or so! But as we get older, we learn patience, maybe just not to the extent we would like too.
Our timeless Lord requires that we learn to be patient as our faith increases. Delays & trials for the things we ready want or really need are worth the waiting. Waiting helps to develop patience and as we add patience to God’s virtues we get better! It is a marker that we are growing into mature Christians. Time is the source for our faith to mature! And a wise Christian isn’t shy about asking God to grand him patience.
The Psalmist stated, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark my iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits. And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (Psalm 130:1-8). If we look at the brighter side of waiting, we will understand that many prayers go up to our Father during the interim of our waiting! We have many examples of patience in the Old Testament alone:
1. Jacob waited seven years for a wife & then he worked another seven years after her father tricked him. (Gen.29:15-20). 2. The Israelites waited 400 years for deliverance to come their way. 3. Moses waited 40 years before God called upon him to rescue God’s people from Egyptian bondage. 4. Moses also waited 40 more years for the Promised Land, of which he could not enter. “My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen wait for the morning.” (Ps. 130:6). The image depicted here of the watchmen would be they are nearing their shift’s end & they are counting the minutes before they can return home!
We ought to pray for patience that is needed so we may be able to handle the difficult times. We must never become discouraged & give up! We must keep on hoping, anticipating, believing because the patience God grants unto us will ultimately see us through. The joy that crosses our faces when we have what we waited for is now come to fruition is beyond explaining! The great prophet Isaiah in the Bible book by his name has one of my favorite sayings, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run & not be weary; they shall walk & not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). I have this verse inscribed on a pedestal with a brass eagle sitting proudly & majestically on top. Every time I see it & read the inscription of Isaiah 40:31, I am reminded of the patience I must constantly pray for & put into practice! We must constantly be reminded that God seldom does great things in a hurry! But these great things from God far exceeds the waiting period.
The most valuable thing that should never be put off is one’s salvation! The Bible tells us “today is the day of salvation; now is the acceptable time.” Christ died for our sins by shedding His precious blood upon the cross. The Gospel is the answer (the only answer) for anyone to receive eternal life. (Romans 1:16; Luke 13:3, 5).