Slideshow image
Scripture for the day: James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Thought for the day: It’s raining. A lot. It’s going to continue for a long time. This too shall pass. But in the meantime, I’ve got things to do; a garden to plant, a lawn to mow, and fish to catch. This rain is a nuisance none of us need right now. It interrupts the smooth flow of life and forces us out of our comfortable, relatively predictable life styles. When interruption comes impatience always accompanies him. I detest being caught in the house and not able to go about my business. I strongly dislike (to avoid using the word hate) standing in line at the store. That long period of time, usually three seconds or less, between the time I hit the on button on my computer and the time the screen lights up is excruciating, don’t you think?
Well, if you share that penchant for impatience, and most of us do, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, God still wants to perfect us, making us into a people who reflect the fruit of the Spirit, which is love expressed in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He has always wanted that and will work at until Jesus Himself returns for His church and takes us home to be with Him. And He'll do whatever is necessary, within His nature, to bring about that perfect relationship between us. The bad news is, patience is one of the most important aspects of being like Christ. Well, that's not really the bad news. The bad news really is that it too often takes real trials and tribulations to develop the patience we need.
Patience, in the way it's used in today's passage simply means the ability to remain unruffled while the world explodes around us. As all those people we counted on for support seem to abandon us; as all those material possessions we've accumulated to insulate us from the harsh reality of life disintegrate; as all the emotional foundations we've developed over the years to protect us from hurt seem to buckle underneath us, we remain calm and find the strength to wait for deliverance from the Lord as He's promised.
And where this virtue is needed the most is in the long haul. As a general rule, most of us can endure almost any inconvenience if we know it won't last very long. We can smile (weakly sometimes) when we're sick if we have the hope that it will only last a short time. We can face financial difficulty if we know it will only last until our next pay check. We can even put up with people letting us down if we know there's and end to it. Where we run into difficulty is when we realize the trial we are facing is going to last a long time and require great patience from us. That often causes us to cry out to God for relief, even when we know the trial is ultimately for our own good.
In the Boston marathon there are a number of twists and turns, hills and valleys to be navigated. Most are quick or short and runners take them in stride. But there is one hill at about the 18-mile mark, known as "heart-break hill", where only the best keep going without great difficulty. It's not that the hill is particularly steep; it's not, in fact it's a very gradual incline . The ground is no rougher than anywhere else and it's fairly straight so navigation isn't a problem. The reason it's so difficult is that it's long. The summit seems miles away and the constant uphill battle, with not apparent end in sight, takes its toll, more on the psychological front than on the physical. But at the end of "heart-break hill" there is the reward of smooth sailing for a time and the knowledge that the runner has endured the worst the marathon has to offer and is still in the race.
Life's race is not so much different. It takes patience and patience requires exercise and exercise comes through facing trials of many kinds. The key to success is keeping in mind the ultimate goal of all these trials; to be like Jesus, to be made fit for heaven. In facing uncertainty and developing patience, attitude is everything. We can look at what's coming and say, "why me, Lord?" and endure the hardships by becoming bitter and angry over them or we can look at the same hardships and say, "Lord, what do you want me to learn from this?" and emerge from them as stronger, more confident Christians, able to stand up in the face of continuous hardship, keeping a spirit of praise in our hearts. You choose.
Now go take on your world. - Bill