Patience

Patience is the invisible way through which great things are done. People often marvel at the gifts of others. But what is really impressing them, often without their knowledge, is the work of patience. Nothing worthwhile is achieved without it. No talent is given to anyone without a great measure of patience to bring it to fruition. Of course, hard work, efficiency and expanding of one’s knowledge base are also factors. But none of those will be as fruitful without exercising a good measure of patience. Patience coupled with hard work consistently creates a great deal of success over time. Somehow when these two things work in conjunction, they seem to multiply like compounded interest. It’s a principle of generating wealth, but not just of money. Patience can generate a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, talent and even the making of great wonders. Patience confounds the impatient. Patience is a student and a teacher. Patience often teaches the teacher while she’s teaching the student. The best lessons I ever learned required the most patience. The best I ever taught was when I exercised the most patience. Patience is like a muscle – the more you exercise it the stronger it becomes. Patience comforts the wise and confounds a fool. Those who lack patience cannot understand what appears to be meaningless waiting. Those who have patience understand that patience isn’t passive. It’s active. That means, one should work while they wait. Put your hands and mind to work and time seems to melt away. You will then begin to make more things happen. Patience isn’t just a virtue. It’s a success secret known only to those who attempt to master it. Patience isn’t time wasted, it’s time well spent. When you lose your patience, you often lose more than that. When you lose your patience you often find and inferior replacement. Finding patience is more valuable than anything you can buy. Never confuse patience with being indecisive. We often spend more time fixing bad decisions we’d not have made had we been patient. Patience is the author of efficiency. Patience doesn’t slow progress, it slows stupidity. It is said, “there’s two sides to every story” but a patient man learns there can often be more than two. Patience exposes the plots of evil men. Patience is no fool. Never pray for patience. We often exercise a great deal of patience from birth and then we’re taught by lesser men to turn away from it. Living a long life well is evidence of a patient person. “Wanting it now,” is best prescribed after the appropriate amount of patience has been exercised. If you see very little patience, hang around a long time and you will eventually see it. If you lack patience, then just you wait. The more patience is suffered, the less it can teach you. I’m more afraid of losing my patience than of finding more. Patience builds character. Patience is a good character trait. If you want to build another’s character, teach them patience. It may take longer but it rewards exponentially. No one ever got to be patient being impatient. Every day can be an exercise in patience. Patience holds her tongue while impatience speaks her mind. Patience is a demonstration of love that you can’t show if you don’t have it. Patience is a quality of love: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant - 1 Corinthians 13:4. The patient man makes room in his life for blessings while an impatient man rejects blessings. There are no shortcuts on the path to patience. Patience is the acceptance of the way things are and the willingness to wait until things change. Patience brings welfare, the future and gives people hope: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11. Patience brings peace: A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. – Proverbs 15:18. “Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.” – Brian Adams "Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice.” – George Jackson (1941-1971). "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” – William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Othello, Act II, sc. 3 Patience can help you see what is really important: “When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened” - Winston Churchill. There are those who seem greedy, and really they just lack patience. Patience is wisdom’s best friend. Oftentimes, the biggest temptation we have in a day is to exercise our own impatience. Patience is both natural and learned. If you didn’t take a long time becoming patient, then you probably aren’t. I have one really good reason to be patient with myself and other. And one good reason is all I need. My reason for trying to master patience is because my God has been so patient with the likes of me. The phrase, “work in progress” is born of the witness to patience. If you don’t have time to be patient, then you haven’t learned the value of it yet. There are times when I look and even sound angry. I’m probably just looking for my patience. The only way anyone can take your patience from you is if you let them have it. Impatience breeds fear. Fear kills dreams. Sometimes people will appear to be doing nothing, when in fact they’re being patient. It is possible to be in a hurry and be patient at the same time – but it doesn’t usually look very pretty. When I’m being impatient, invariably I’m getting in God’s way. When I’m being patient, God seems to have His way. The only way to do something fast, well is to first do it slow, well. This requires discipline, but also his best friend known as patience. Frustration is often times the lack of patience. Patience is the exercising of wisdom. “Do it nice, not twice,” is born out of patience. You only think you want what you want right now. But leave patience out of the mix and you may find that you get something other than what you really wanted – or needed. Impatience gives way to decisions that only solve problems for the temporary, often creating more problems for the future. Patience gives way to solutions that are long-lasting, even eternal and often steer one clear enough to avoid other future problems. The greatest gift children can give their parents is patience. And the greatest gift that parents can give to their children is the very same thing. Patience keeps you employed. Like many relationships, I started mine with patience in an adversarial way. Over time, however, we’ve become good friends. Whenever I’m short on patience, I just wait till I find some. Patience can help you overcome temptation. Patience requires a tenth of the work that impatience does, or maybe less! Patience doesn’t necessarily come with age but with practice. I’ve come to learn that impatience is not my friend. He gets me into a lot of trouble that usually only patience can get me out of. Patience builds wealth and impatience builds poverty. Many a failure can be attributed to a lack of patience, yet success is often built on the foundation of an abundance of patience. Yes, I’m a work in progress. That means I’m living proof of God’s infinite patience. Ah, I have been freely given so I shall freely give also! Anxiousness is the human desire to override our patience. Being patient means the willingness to wait for days for what may come in a moment. Be careful not to judge another’s patience. A five-year old boy may very well have patience beyond his years if he is willing to wait quietly for five minutes. In other words, exercise your patience while others build theirs. You’ll grow your own and theirs! The cost of not waiting can cause one to spend the rest of one’s life regretting a decision. Impatience is the author of regret. I’m only as good as my patience will allow me to be. Building one’s patience is like waiting for the sip of a fine wine – it’s worth the wait. There is none more patient than God. Take one quick look at this world around you and its plain to see why He needs to be. We should be thankful for His patience with us as well as His willingness to teach us to be more like Him. Being patient is evidence or the fruit of growing in Christ-likeness. Praise our Creator for His patience and His teaching us to be patient. We are not worthy of such a gift, yet He loves us enough to give it anyway. Love is patient. God is love. It’s a wonderful and amazing thing. Praise the Lord and Amen!

Congratulations! The time in which it took you to read all of this you just grew your patience all the more. I appreciate your patience.

To emphasize the point I’m trying to make about patience, it will be another year before my next entry. Just kidding! See you next time.