Growing in Faith and Patience
If there’s a chapter in the Bible I’ve read more than any
other it’s probably James 1. There’s so much practical wisdom on taming the
tongue, trials and breakthrough, being a doer of the word. Patience though, has
been a critical part of my growth as a Christian.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall
into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.” (verse 2-4)
I always imagined the verse should read “The testing of your
patience produces faith”. That used to confuse me. Isn’t faith the ethereal thing
that Gods asks for? Isn’t faith the ‘hard to get your mind around’ discipline?
Patience for Maturity
It seems like faith would be the goal and patience would be
the mechanism you exercise. But it’s the opposite. That tells me that faith is
the mechanism or muscle you build. Hebrews calls it the “substance of things
hoped for”. It’s the activity we use to strengthen our character. Patience
isn’t just for spiritual matters. It’s critical to function as a responsible adult.
It’s also the way God’s plan of sowing and reaping works. All that planting and
watering creates a restless mind prone to giving up. Patience bridges the gap
between our efforts and rewards.
We rarely get what we
want, in the time frame we want it. And much of what we want in our 20s goes
away in our 30s anyway. It’s the same situation for career and relationships.
Patience means waiting and trusting that God will provide what we need in His
time. It’s really about trust, and trust is a process.
Respecting the Father
When we place our trust in God we give Him our wants and ask
for His wisdom. It’s rarely a quick process. Trust takes time because it must.
How deep would that trust be if He gave us everything we asked for right away?
We’d be no better than a screaming child in a shopping cart pointing and
demanding various items in the toy department. This is key to understanding how
the Father breaks through our selfishness straight to our heart. Not only will
the toys not fulfill us, they’ll reduce God to a dispenser of goods. This isn’t
a god anyone can serve. He’s more like an eternal Santa Claus, affirming our
feelings and handing out goodies.
We neither respect Him nor put any long term trust in Him.
This might be a big part of our problem culturally as the Church. Our affluence
in the West acts like a callous over our hearts. We don’t have to wait all that
often. 'Suffering' today means waiting for the woman at Starbucks, who’s ordering
customized drinks for the entire office. Talk about a test of patience when all
you want is a coffee, black! The comfortable existence of daily life, lulls
into a sense of complacency. We’ve forgotten how to trust in God. America has
built up an impressive consumer driven economy. Amazon delivers most packages
within 1 day. Walmart delivers groceries the same day.
This isn’t a lament about our wealthy culture. I’m grateful
for the all the comforts. I’m grateful that we can pursue leisure and finicky
diets without worrying about the national wheat crop.
Waiting is Countercultural
But the ease of life makes us forget that God’s plan has its
own schedule. Has anyone found a way to make cattle grow faster or how to shorten
the seasons? Time is God’s purview and messing with it will leave us frustrated.
The consumer marketplace might move quicker than ever but it can’t mature a
person any faster. Faith can only be built one way, through struggle. It’s
uncomfortable at first because it’s supposed to be. You can’t lift a 100 pounds over your head
until you’ve started with 50. Faith is linked to patience like muscles are to
power.
Maybe we’re slow to learn this concept because culture is
rooted in handing us whatever we want. But part of gaining patience is learning
to stay in the shopping cart and sit still. Trust that when you need something
God will throw it in the basket. For the rest, learn to work for the important
things in life and be grateful for the time we live in. You never know when it
will end.
conclusion
This isn’t doom and gloom forecasting, but life is
unpredictable and nothing lasts forever. A patient person is a complete person
who lacks nothing according to James. That means difficult times won’t phase
you if your trust is in God, and how He’s built up your faith. It’s what I’m
learning about the nature of God. James 1 is a good place to start with patience.