You would think that patience is not a virtue in this instant gratification culture of ours when everything can be granted instantly, and no one has to wait. It is normal not to wait and have everything you wait for here and now. I am no exception to this folly: there are days I ask God to give me a wife here and now, but He doesn't. A lady would come into my life, and I pray she's the one He's chosen, but like David's brothers when God chose someone after His heart, He refused them. This left me with heartache, but I am learning patience; for I believe God has the best for those who wait on Him. What I didn't realize until now, about all the waiting, is that there are benefits to patience.
I will relate a personal experience that can show you what I mean. A proverb comes to mind about my experience that says: "Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." (Proverbs 14:29). Recently, I had been promoted to a shift manager at my work, and I had never been tested as a leader before. One day, I was at the cash register when a Mexican man came in wanting to order a pizza, so I tried to communicate with him, while placing his order, by asking him what he wanted. He only wanted a medium pizza with part of a deal we have, but he had to order two items to get the deal. He thought that it was two pizza toppings, and not a separate item like pizza or breadsticks. With my schizophrenia, I had a hard time giving clear communication, so we were misunderstanding each other. I was getting frustrated, but I stopped and took a deep breath and told myself to have patience. Everything cleared up, and the man was satisfied with his order: I displayed slow to anger to help the man like Jesus would have done. I hope, O reader, that this personal experience would show you the benefits of patience.
A lot of bible people had patience. Abraham was a son of one hundred years and Sarah was a daughter of ninety years when they had Isaac. Joseph's dreams started at seventeen, but didn't happen until he was thirty. Joseph had to prepare with what God had in mind for him while as a slave and in prison before being second-in-command to Pharoah. David was anointed King of Israel when he was a teenager, but he didn't perceive himself to be king until he was thirty and had a lot of trauma and preparation to be king with a heart like God's heart. After Moses fled from his great father, the Pharoah, to go to Midian, he was a shepherd for forty years before God called him from the burning bush to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Many people were called for God's purpose, but had to wait before their purpose was realized.
Jesus was zealous for His Father's work at twelve years of age, but didn't start His earthly ministry until He was thirty in earth years, but He waited from the foundation of the world to be one with man--that's a long time. All the time Jesus was on earth, He was tempted at every turn yet without sin. His patience with the woman caught in adultery was astounding. The Pharisees caught her in the act, and brought her to Jesus with the immediate attempt to stone her, but He waited. Jesus went on the ground and wrote. When He stood up, He said: "he who is perfect throw the first stone.". Then, He patiently went back to the ground to write; all the Pharisees dropped their weapons and walked away leaving the woman and Jesus alone. Jesus told the woman in hopeful patience to go and sin no more. Jesus' patience saved a woman's life, and that's how God is: slow to wrath.
Paul says in I Corinthians 13 that love is patience and kind, and Jesus showed that to everyone He came in contact with. I don't know about you personally, O reader, but His example of patience is something I desire to imitate--even if it is hard to do so with all the temptations in the world. I hope there is a good reward for waiting patiently on the LORD--come quickly LORD Jesus.
