How much trouble would we have avoided in our lives if only we had patience.
“My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy, knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience, and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 CPDVM
Even though this scripture was written to be used in a different context in the Bible then what I’m using it for, it can still be used for the same principle, that if we are patient we will save ourselves from unnecessary trouble.
Patience is the act of enduring difficult circumstances such as; perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in annoyance/anger; or forbearance when under strain; especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one has before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character of being steadfast.
Having patience can be a challenge for many of us due to us thinking we need to have things our way now!
Our society has been in acceleration mode since forever with no sign of it slowing down. We have everything literally at our fingertips. Technology coupled with our smartphones and social media has made things so enticing and easy to get our hands on. Certain things that took years to accomplish doesn’t take that much time now. This could be both good and bad in some cases, but I personally believe that we need patience to produce great character.
I remember a time in my life when I lacked patience. When I was 23 years old I bought my first car. I remember going to the car lot to only look at cars and before I knew it I was driving away with a new car. You may think to yourself well that doesn’t seem bad. It wasn’t at first, but later down the line it became a heavy burden that I had to bear with for the next 3 years. Before I bought that car I was sharing a car with my mother. It was a little blue 2003 dodge neon that we had until we traded it in 2014/2015. At that time we were having car troubles. Nothing that we couldn’t have fixed but my mother felt as if she was spending too much in repairs. So I had the idea that we should buy a new car. Long story short I wish that we hadn’t got another car because it turned out to be a very bad financial move than a blessing. The car payments were $445 monthly plus car insurance at $209. $645 going into a car not to mention the gas, wear and tear repairs. We then realized it would’ve been better for us to be patient and keep our old car and pay for repairs then to put $600 extra in a car that had a Interest rate of 18%. After it was all said and done, we would’ve spent almost $30,000 for on car that was only worth $13,000. So from this issue with our car, I learned to first be patient in tribulation. Which means to be patient when trouble or tough situations arise and not to be hasty in decision making. I believe if we would‘ve done more research, toughened out our car circumstances before making a purchase we would’ve came out with a much better deal then we did.
Sometimes our quick decisions and impatience can take us away from what’s important. Like our true purpose. Since I was stuck with car payments I had to work double time in order to pay it. I didn’t have the freedom to do other things that were just as important like helping others, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and even serving God in the ministry he had called me to. I was literally a slave. Though that time in my life was hard it taught me a valuable lesson to be patient. There’s a old saying that says, “Dont make permanent decisions over temporary circumstance”. If we only have patience, we will save ourselves from many troubles.
“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”
Proverbs 10:22 NIV
“In your patience ye shall win your souls.” Luke 21:19 ASV”
Lets pray,
Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thank you that you are a long suffering and a patient God. I know that I have not made the right decisions in the past, but thank you that you are also a God of a second, third and multiple chances. Thank you that all things has and had worked together for my good and is only making me stronger. Thank you Jesus and amen 🙏🏾