Are You Kidding? Patience & Faith
A lot of things about having a relationship with God make me shake my head. If I listen to the guys on television my life should be perfect and rolling in money. At least that is the line they use to get your money. Don’t get me wrong. It would be awesome if that is how it worked. I am going to be a little upset if I missed out here, because I did not read the fine print. Anyway, that does not matter. What does matter is that a couple of verses from Revelation 13 sort of hit me this last week.
In August of last year I was diagnosed with a bone marrow cancer and started chemo treatment to deal with it. During that time I was not really scared or nervous about how it would go. I realized that whatever would happen would happen. I went through treatments and bad days with a sense of hope and belief that it would be alright. In February I had my last treatment and have had a couple of appointments where everything checked out fine. So it all seemed to be going good.
Then six weeks ago I developed a cough. A cough that has persisted even though I’ve been on antibiotics and steroids. I cough through the night and am worn out. I don’t say that to get any sympathy, but so maybe you understand that when these verses speak to me they might actually hit you as well. Here they go. They are words spoken in the midst of great trials for believers and this is what God has to say. Sometimes I do not enjoy what God says or how this life works. That being said, I ain’t God and I’m just walking the path he has called me to walk.
“Anyone who has ears should listen: If you are to be a prisoner, then you will be a prisoner. If you are to be killed with the sword, then you will be killed with the sword. This means that God’s holy people must have patience and faith.” Revelation 13:9-10 (NCV)
God tells these believers that are in the midst of all hell breaking loose that things may just be what they are. He says you may stay a prisoner, you may die but still there is something you need to understand. There are two things God wants to see in our lives. One of them sounds so awesome and one sounds like nails on a chalkboard. It sounds amazing to have faith. The belief that having faith can make things work out for our good seems like a good place to start.
I want to have faith. The ability to walk into a situation with the idea that all is going to go good. But, is that really faith? I think faith means that even on the bad days I still believe. Faith is a big word. It means I still believe no matter what. That is tough. Super tough. But faith that is weak, really is not faith at all. So I will believe that no matter what comes my way that God will help me grow through it. Will it be “for my best”? Not really sure. But my faith will be grounded not in my belief, but in the God I believe in and the trust that His love for me will lead to my good.
Okay, that is all good. Faith and stuff is the things of saints and I’m not always comfortable with those places. This whole patience thing? Oh Lord help me now. Patience is not on the top of my list. I want to pray and things be fixed. Problem is that when things are just automatically fixed I don’t grow. Patience means that I build up some residual strength. Patience makes my faith stronger. I hate that if I’m going to grow stronger it means I struggle through the bad times and look forward to better times.
I do not like patience anymore than someone who is waiting for their McDonalds for more than a minute. Patience is the work of saints. I wish there was an end date on patience. Wired thing is that the more I have it, the more I need it. So God’s work in our lives is to produce faith and patience. I am learning to see patience as a goal. One I will never reach, but one I’m going towards. After all, God has so much patience with me. Can’t I return that blessing?
So, I ‘m learning to be patient and it is a journey. As I move through life as it is now for me, I am realizing that I have to be patient and have faith. Patience gets me through what wears me out. Faith gets me through all that I’m not sure about. Man this following God stuff is tough. But, without God in my life I’m done. So be easy on yourself. God is ever patient and willing to take a few steps back if it leads to a few steps forward. That is why my faith will not be done. I’m just hanging with God and finding our way towards these two things: Faith and Patience.