picture14Patience is a virtue…they tell me. It is not one of my most sterling attributes. I can sometimes be found drumming my fingers on the counter while waiting “patiently” for my coffee to be reheated. On a better day you might find me multitasking while waiting for that coffee to be “nuked.”

So it is a bit humorous that my ministry work puts me on picture15airplanes for 18 or more hours to get from home base to the ministry location. On top of that, you can add up to 10 hours of waiting in airports…even without those inevitable flight delays. I have had to learn patience in those settings, reading, writing, or…my most favorite sport…people watching.

There was a point several years ago where God prepared me for patient endurance in a very interesting way. The Lord knew I was about to face a time of great challenge, great testing, and great frustration. Just before that all transpired, His Spirit led me to memorize a verse or two from Hebrews. To this day I don’t recall how I arrived at those verses, or even why I decided to memorize them. It became obvious to me rather quickly, though, that it was the hand of God directing me in advance to His message that He knew I needed.

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
                                                                             Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT)

Patient endurance. Confident trust. Not easy in our world today. Not easy…but easy-er if you have seen the amazing work of a faithful God as He provided and protected in personal and powerful ways. Confident trust.

I share those verses often, most recently with a dear friend who is working his way back from a stroke a few months ago. When I see him at church I can see the progress he is making. I’m sure that to him it seems painfully slow, but from my perspective I can see the results of his faithful rehab work and daily efforts to regain skills in the areas affected by the stroke. Patient endurance. Remember the great reward.

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There are days where I don’t see progress in our ministry work. I have trouble connecting with people half way around the world. There seems to be a delay in some of the steps needed for MEDIAlliance to function effectively. Projects and funding seem slow in coming. Patient endurance. On those days, I need it, too.

Life in our fallen world has a way of frustrating us. Blocking us. Diverting us. Patient endurance…waiting on God’s promises…is a challenge. It takes daily “rehab” to get us to the point where we live our lives with confident trust in God. Not just in what we say, but in our actions…and in our patience. Ask the Lord for the patient endurance you need today in order to receive all that He has promised.