Today, I have a confession to make: I don’t like to be told to be patient or to persevere. They create this picture of a lifetime of hardship and suffering in my mind anytime I come across those words. Sometimes, I want things to happen at my pace and in the manner I purpose as if I was God (lol).
That’s why it strikes me to see that the bible considers patience and perseverance as virtues required for living a balanced life:
2 Peter 1:5-8
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you posses these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.
Perseverance is an irreplaceable virtue we lack in this day. Everyone wants instant coffee and instant noodles, nobody wants to wait and wait and wait.
But this is exactly what we should do as Christians; we have to wait at many points in life. Faith doesn’t mean we must get immediate answers to our prayers, in fact Faith means we believe God and hold on to his word and…wait!
When the bible asks us to persevere, it doesn’t mean that God is slow or that he wants to punish us by making us wait, it simply means that God is at work!
To persevere is to understand that God is working and I will see it in a short/long while.
Sadly, this virtue cannot be bought with money or wished into our lives, it can’t even be gotten by laying of hands. It’s something we have to learn on-the-job.
What I mean is that we learn to persevere by persevering; we learn to be patient by being patient. You can’t learn to persevere when there is no occasion for persevering.
It’s not something we go and study like a course, come out with a certificate and then begin to practice, nah!
We learn it ‘in situ’; we learn it in the process.
So calm down, don’t turn your life into a mad rush and get caught up in the rat race, do find time to sit down and simply wait. I am learning to do same.
Also remember; we are not to persevere only in trials or bad times, but we are to persevere in doing good, in living right and in loving others.
I know you did the right thing yesterday and it seems it made no difference, nobody even noticed it, but don’t worry; still persevere in doing good.
I know you have been loving and forgiving people, yet they keep hurting you; it’s time to persevere and not grow weary.
Finally dearest one, I want to encourage your heart; God heard your prayers the very first time you said them, and though it may take some time to see the results, it will surely come.
Hang in there, God has got you!
Don’t forget to have a splendid week ahead.
Much Love.
xoxo
