James 5:7-9 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
When I reflect on the events we are facing regarding the coronavirus, the hardest part of all of it is waiting.
The problem is I’m not sure what I’m waiting for.
Am I waiting for it to go back to the way it was before?
Am I waiting for everybody to get sick?
Am I patiently waiting for God to unfold His plan for us while practicing what I know to be true about my faith?
It’s a weird feeling, one that ebbs and flows, sometimes with hopeful anticipation and sometimes with despair?
In the verses that come to my attention this morning, ”patience” is brought up in three different ways.
We’re called to be patient. Patient despite the circumstances. We are not going to see every detail of God’s plan, and if we could, we wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
”My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
The next reference to ”patience” is a farmer waiting for rain in the fall and the spring. When I consider this part of the verses, the farmers are waiting for something outside of their control but that they know will happen.
Am I patiently waiting on the Lord?
Psalm 27:14 NLT
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.
I’m waiting… It’s the ”patiently” and ”brave and courageous” part that I struggle with sometimes. But when I notice this, I bring this to the Lord.
The last reference to patience says, ”you MUST be patient.”
No gray area here.
And these verses are followed up with this caveat, ”don’t grumble about each other.”
I think our tendency as believers is to get out in front of God instead of waiting. This is a spot that we end up exposed and out of God’s protection.
And when we don’t feel progress is going the way we think it should, we tend to point our fingers at those around us for the lack of progress.
Matthew 7:3-5 NLT
”And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
Heavenly Father, I pray for strength and courage.
Strength and courage to be patient and hopeful, knowing that You are working out all the details.
I pray for our leaders’ hearts that You give them the wisdom, strength, and courage to guide us through the challenges we face.
I pray for discernment and a sensitivity to Your Spirit and that You provide me with the strength and courage to live out my faith in You and to reflect my hope in You to those around me.
In the name of my loving and gracious Savior, Jesus Christ, I lay down my life for You, Amen!! 🙏❤️
