When We Are Ready

February 22, 2021

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

~James 1:4~

There are many things to be patient for in life. There are many good things we wait for and tough things we wait to get out of. We may be waiting on a financial raise, an addition to our families, a new job, a big move or to get out of a situation that may take time. What ever the case may be that we are in need of patience for we can rest assured God is there with us working in His time. His time and our time are completely different. "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (II Peter 3:8)

This is the reason that the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah came after hundreds of years of waiting for the israelites. To God it was quick I am sure, to them they were in need of a lot of patience and reminders along the way. We too have this same issue with patience. As humans, we just want things right away dont we? God may have a perfect timeline set in place yet we still try to take control ourself on how we can speed things up. "Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it?"

(Lamentations 3:37)

It is a sad thing when one is not able to trust in the Lord and begins to make himself lord over his or her own life. Control is in God's hands, we can continue to try to fight against it but it will only cause destruction in our own path. "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall."

(Proverbs 16:18)

The beauty in not being able to create our own peace, patience and strength is that Jesus is faithful to give to us as we ask.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7‭-‬8)

Jesus speaks to us about God's faithfulness in when we are persistent in asking and knocking on doors we wish to be opened in our lives. If the time is not just yet, we shall ask for divine patience. If the time of patience involves enduring hardship for a door to be opened, we shall ask for divine strength. James tells us to "let patience have its perfect work." This can be in any circumstance we are being shaped by, given over to or gifted with. As humans, we need constant reminders each day as we wait. This is the gift we have with the word of God. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11)

Some hear it for a time and fall. Some hear it and get choked up by the cares of this world. Some hear it and produce many good fruits.

If a child gets in trouble for something they may have done to be disobedient to their parents they would go in a place called "time out." During that time in that chair they would be instructed to "wait till a certain amount of minutes are up," or "till mommy or daddy says they can get up." Even though this is an unpleasant time for the child, they are told to wait with patience for it to be over. Some days we may hit situations in the same way. If we choose to make a wrong choice to be disobedient to God, we may end up in our own sense of personal "time out." God knows the heart of man; "And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all." (Acts 1:24)

When God sees a person who may need more time to perfect their own patience in Him, He may have them wait longer then they thought. He is shaping the clay to be the pottery He originally designed that may have gotten cracked or broken off in some way.

"And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make." (Jeremiah 18:4)

Just as this potter's house Jeremiah was taken to for him to witness the working of the clay in his hand, so are we in God's hands. If we stray away or resist during times of patience we are still in God's hands as He slowly reshapes us back to the image He made us to be. Sometimes that can be tough on us; for instance we can be a stubborn type of people so when God wants us to slow down or listen He will certainly make a way for us to do so that we grow in perfect patience and lack nothing on our journey with Him. There is not a day that goes by I do not pray for His patience to fill me as I am not able to do anything on my own. The submission to Him as we may suffer and as we wait is gain in Christ.

"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." (Philippians 1:29)

So whether you are waiting on a new car, job, house, baby, promotion or to be out of an unpleasant situation as our persecuted family in Christ across the globe are; we can let that patience have its perfect way in us according to God's plan so that we can be complete and lack nothing for Christ. It is all for His glory, not our own. The time will be right when He says it is right. The best part? We never have to wait to pray. Keep seeking, knocking and searching my friends, He will take care of the rest.

Prayer:

Gracious Father, I thank you for perfecting patience in me as I submit to You. There are many things I just will not understand and times I will need to wait. As I wait I worship You. As I wait I pray for divine patience. As I wait I trust in You. Without You I would be in need of taking control of my own life and there is no need for that. I was designed to be Yours and to walk according to the will You have for my life. Help me to grow in relationship to You so that I may hear and see which will lead to my understanding of what I am to do or say in any given situation. I praise You in the Highest as You always watch over Your children. You go through the fire with me, through the deep waters beside me and You sit in the waiting periods with me holding me close. There is nothing I cannot get through with You. As I suffer in Christ, I gain in life. Glory be to You Jesus for Your wondrous Name which gifts me of many things that are not always physical to the eye yet I grow because of them. It is in Your Name I pray and receive this today, Jesus Christ. Amen.