"Patience Is A Virtue"


I remember being small and asking my dad if he would do “such and such” to which he would answer, “Yes, just as soon as I finish this.” Well, “this” always seem to run into “that” and on and on it went until I thought he would never get around to doing what I had asked. I remember becoming disappointed and frustrated. These are the kinds of feelings that patience as a virtue address.

Patience, tolerance, and perseverance are characteristics that are conducive to success in most endeavors. Someone has said, “Patience is not passive; on the contrary it is active; it is concentrated strength.” There are some who are naturally more attuned to tolerance when it comes to awaiting or enduring something, but for most of us it is a virtue that must be first, desired, then developed and lastly, continually honed.

Patience, tolerance, perseverance are, likewise, necessary for success in our spiritual walk and especially in our prayer life. For so many Christians, prayer is the last tool in their toolbox, and they resort to prayer as a last resort. We expect an answer now and we expect the answer to be the one requested. When we ask God for help, the help may come in a manner that is, seemingly, unrelated to our petition.

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk had been praying for a long time for God to cure the ills in Judah. When God answered, Habakkuk was not happy with the answer. He expressed his feeling to God and then he said, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint” (Hab. 2:1). We can see from this statement that Habakkuk dedicated himself to three commitments.

A commitment to perseverance – Habakkuk said “I will stand my watch…” In other words, I am prepared to wait as long as it takes.

A commitment to watch – “I will look to see what He will say to me.” Employ the wisdom to recognize the answer when it is received.

A commitment to act – The prophet said that he would see how he was to respond.

These are commitments that every Christian should make regarding their prayer life.

In Christian Love,        



 

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