The Miracle of Patience

"God engineers our circumstances as he did those of his Son; all we have to do is to follow where he places us. The majority of us are busy trying to place ourselves. God alters things while we wait for him."

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

 
As some of you know, back in the 90's I freelanced articles for publication. It was a fun and exciting time for me. Seeing an article I wrote in print was thrilling. Having a favorite magazine publish my work was a dream come true.

I was looking through the articles I've written and found this one: The Miracle of Patience.  I thought I'd share excerpts from it. Hope you enjoy!

"Patience is a word nobody likes. How can we? Everyone knows you don't pray for patience! Laughing at my dictionary's definition of patience--the capacity of calm endurance--I thought 'they must be kidding! Calm endurance?' . . .

"Yet patience is becoming a reality to me. Recently encountering a new trial in my life, I cried:  'I can't believe it's happening again.' But after the initial shock, a startling thought came to mind. My heart was breaking, but I felt strong. 'How can this be?' I wondered. And I knew, this must be the miracle of patience.

Patience is a hard word to learn. It's not like joy, when you bubble over with gladness, or being sad, tears announcing your hurting heart . . . patience is something that's hard to explain but what we have to learn to survive. It's when we must trust God--His timetable and His will . . .

"I had no awareness of the true meaning of patience in the early years of my life. It wasn't until I became a Christian that I came to know patience as a quality . . .

"In my late 20s when I came to know Jesus, I learned patience to mean the ability to trust God with His timetable. My Savior now took care of me. He was in control of my life. . .

"Although I was fairly disciplined in reading the Bible, I determined to spend 30 minutes each morning with God. I yearned for the comfort and hope only He could give me. I used a devotion book and study guide to give me focus as I studied His Word. I didn't know it then, but that discipline early in my faith, was the beginning of my introduction to God's Class 101 in patience . . .

"He filled me with strength to get through each day. Many mornings, through tears, I told God, 'I trust you and I know you will take care of me.' He was always waiting to comfort my heart. And my heartfelt words He honored . . .

"About the time I was getting on my feet from a heavy burden, I received an encouraging note in the mail. My heart was so moved that someone would take the time to write me a note of encouragement that I felt God's call to join in this ministry. It was exciting to touch someone's heart! . . .

"After a few years on smooth ground, I was hit with another burden that broke my heart. My ministry of writing encouraging notes took on a new meaning . . .

"'How can I write encouraging words when my heart is breaking?' I soon realized that the words I found to write to others helped me too, reaffirming the strength I stood on. I still find it amazing though, that my heart breaks and at the same time my faith is strong. Smiling, I consider how I laughed when I read--'the capacity of calm endurance.' As I grow in understanding my God, and establish disciplines in my life to help me during times of trial, I grasp the miracle of patience . . .

"Learning about the nature of God and how He works to bring about His will is an ongoing process. Time is the essence. Just as the other Fruit of the Spirit takes time to internalize and develop in my life, patience is realized as it is played out year after year. I witness that the God I serve is able to overcome all my concerns . . .

"As the years of my faith build one upon another, I find it easy to say with the psalmist, "Be at rest once more, O my soul, For the Lord has been good to you." (116:7)"

It's always fun when I go back and read articles I wrote years earlier. My success rate of publication was 30%. But nothing will equal the very first acceptance letter I received. He gave me the desire of my heart!

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4