Patience Is Not Just A Name But A Weapon

"I waited patiently for the LORD; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."Psalm 40:1 KJV

There are very few times in the scriptures, where we notice the phraseology 'to wait patiently' being used to depict a certain posture that people take in their dealings with God. We equally hear the phrase countless times within our own social interactions from the very moment we become conversant with language and communication. Whether it’s a parent indulging a child to wait patiently for her/his food to cool down, or a teenager patiently abstaining from sex till marriage or just those brief waits at the traffic stop when it’s on red. Whatever the scenario, to patiently wait in principle is a concept most are familiar with one way or the other.

In my attempt to help us to understand what biblical and godly patience is and should be to the believer, it’s imperative that we take a brief dip by looking at the latent discrepancy between the words, to wait and to be patient, even though they are usually employed for the same purposes. To wait in essence, is a more passive activity while patience on the other hand carries a more active disposition. To explain a bit further, waiting is that season where a person is merely hopeful of a promised outcome in the future, whilst patience on the other hand is a person's disposition via attitude and behavior while waiting for that expected outcome. For instance, in Exodus 14:14, it speaks of the attitude of stillness in the midst of the chaos. So a man or woman is deemed as a patient when they sustain the unnatural ability to maintain stillness in the chaos.

John in his gospel accounts(John 1:5) speaks of a darkness that every man born into the world is exposed to. A darkness he suggests we can only overcome by employing the light of God's word . It’s this same darkness that somewhat translates to the myriad of trials,tribulations,mishaps and the likes that we face particularly as believers in Christ. And so, comforting words like be of good cheer in John 16:33, where Jesus admits , that even though there would be strings of uncomfortable, despairing, unpalatable and difficult moments, He has made enough provisions well enough to suffice us. Your ability to remain of good cheer in your moments of waiting is what is deemed as patience.

There are two critical words within the New Testament Greek lexicon that are often used to represent the word patience (endurance,long suffering) and they are makrothymia & hypomonē. The former usually talks about the patience we exhibit with people while the latter hypomonē speaks of our disposition physically or emotionally in the midst of circumstances we deem as unpalatable or how we behave when in the midst of a supposed opposition or trial. That is the patience we are referencing today. James appears to suggest in his letter(James 1:2-4) an almost absurd correlation between joy and pain. That appears quite oxymoronic since these are two opposing realities that can not naturally coexist. James proceeds to admonish us that we must maintain the disposition of joy & cheerfulness when it appears the world is caving in on us, totally shutting down the little ventilation we have. He cautions us not to merely wait aloof, murmuring under our breath or be depressed but rather go through our own mishaps exuding joy and cheerfulness. That is what he refers to as godly patience.

Patience has an agenda in the believer's life. This is what James calls the perfect work of patience. God uses our patience to teach us to go beyond the tangible blessing & promise and develop an unwavering ability to rely solely on Him even when situations don’t make sense to our feeble minds. Remember in Acts 1:4 when Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the father. That promise and charge came without any timeline of manifestation and yet the disciples were supposed to adhere to that very promise without any knowledge of the when. By what technology were they supposed to wait? They had to patiently wait for the promise in confidence knowing that the one who had promised could be trusted & was faithful (Hebrews 10:23). Because to God, the promise/blessing is not as important to Him as what you are becoming while you wait on Him. Patience molds us to become more efficient at handling the blessings of God. The virtue of patience is bedrock on which virtues like consistency & self control are built .

Finally, in Acts 1:14, the very day and moment the promise of the spirit alighted, guess what, they were not found murmuring and waiting, neither were they found fighting and waiting , they were patiently waiting in the attitude of prayer and supplication to God. Anyone who is able to truly patiently wait on God will become a conquering weapon in the hands of God. We must ultimately reconcile our hearts and minds to the reality that we can only lay hold on the promises of God and effectively do His will(Hebrews 10:36) only when we are able to patiently endure the obscure and uncertain seasons of our lives knowing that the one who promised does not lie.