I’ve purposely titled this backwards because this is how I feel. I prayed for patience about 1-2 years ago. I knew and still know that I too often want things to change now. So patience I thought was a good thing to pray for.
I have the weirdest travel to work stories from this time. I only live 5-10 minutes from work and it was during this time of prayer for patience that I began to experience an unusually high number of people running red lights, four way stops, or just plain cutting me off. This was happening no less than once per trip to work up to 3 times during a single trip and then no less than once on the way back home. I was downright mad and angry about how careless these drivers were.
Finally I took it to God and asked, “WHAT’S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!”
In my heart I heard, “You’re the one that was praying for patience.”
Then I laughed and realized how foolish I’d been. In my quest for patience I’d expected God to just make me patient. But if God does that then what kind of person am I? I’m like a robot awaiting programing. God instead was giving me a chance to practice patience.
I’m glad God is more patient than me, because some time later, I found myself praying once again in frustration, “Ok, God, I understand that I need patience but can I have a break from all these close calls with these vehicles?”
Then I heard in my heart, “You can if you stop praying for patience.”
Yes, I was still praying for patience but for some reason I thought that God would give me a break or change methods, but apparently this was one of those prayers that God was very willing to answer for me. And He knew just where to coach me. In a place I very much needed it. I will pray for patience again someday … maybe, but for now I need a break. Occasionally I still have those close calls, and they still serve as a reminder to be patient.
James 1:2-4 says this regarding my encounter:
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.
So its like going to the gym. Working out is tough and grueling but it eventually helps you lose weight, look and feel better, and be healthier overall.
Lately I’ve been praying for “Unity” in the church. I wonder how will our unity be tested so that we may practice it. I’ve prayed that we would love one another and wonder will we love one another even when it appears that we ourselves are not loved.
I believe our perceptions may be played against us. When I prayed for patience and those cars tested mine, the people in the other cars showed no knowledge of doing wrong. As far as I know, they thought they were driving perfectly fine and never knew that I was insulted by them.
If our unity and love is tested the same way my patience was, there may be those that wrong me, and not know it. Will I love them even if they don’t show me love? Or maybe I’m the guy in the other car, cutting someone off and not knowing it. Will they love me if I fail to show them love?
Or maybe we both did fine, but took offense anyway. Will we give each other the benefit of the doubt?
When given the opportunity to practice loving our neighbor as ourselves will we take advantage to practice loving? Or will we simply complain, and say that it isn’t our fault, so don’t give us no blame.
I must urge all my brothers and sisters to love one another even in the face of adversity. We must love those most, who we perceive to love us least. Because those who have so little need it the most, and that I believe will allow us to shine the light of Christ and grow stronger in our Unity and our Love.
And who knows. Maybe we will find that we were the ones that needed their love all along. That they never stopped loving us despite our perceptions.
And if we’ve already fallen short, we have Christ’s forgiveness to lift us up and we should show them love now, before it’s too late.
No one said it was easy for a tiny seed to die and become something it never was before. A large tree. In this way I perceive our faith as a seed and when we are finished growing, our faith will be as a large tree. The growing, however, is not easy.
“We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage” – John Newton
