Have You Heard of Patience?

Romans 15:1-7

Message No. 0777 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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Patience is not just a virtue, it can be life-changing. This week we examine this important attribute with examples of those who never possessed it or learned it too late. We will take the subject further next week but God bless you as you read!

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I once worked in an organization where there were layers of managers and directors. We had General Managers (GMs), Deputy General Managers (DGMs), Senior Assistant General Managers (SAGMs), Assistant General Managers (AGMs), and so on. My department was headed by a powerful DGM, who was feared not only in the department but in the organization as a whole, as even his colleagues knew that he wielded some power. On one occasion, there was a decision that needed his approval, which was documented, and needed him to sign. He was not around to sign, and in order to not lose the momentum of the board’s perceived favourability to the decision, two of his deputies, both Assistant General Managers (AGMs) signed on his behalf and the document went to the board for approval. When he came and saw that his deputies had signed such an important document without consulting him, the man became furious and asked his deputies, “Who told you that two AGMs make one DGM?  

The dictionary defines Patience as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. And I will add that even when you’re angry or upset, patience is the capacity to not show it. Well, how do you mean, you might ask? If, in hindsight, you find yourself repeatedly regretting how you could have reacted to a situation or what you could have said in response to some provocation that could have made you look good and put some people where they belong, then congratulations, because you are patient. But if you find yourself , in hindsight, repeatedly regretting how you could have not said what you said or done what you did because you didn’t mean them, then I am sorry to say that you cannot be counted among the patient.

In 1 Samuel 13:1-14, the Bible says that Saul gathered 3,000 soldiers to attack the Philistines. When the Philistines heard about it, they, in response, gathered 36,000 fighters against Israel. The people were afraid, and needed Saul to do something to avert disaster. However, Samuel, Israel’s prophet and priest, had commanded Saul to wait for him so he could make a sacrifice to the Lord before commencing on the battle. As Israel’s soldiers were already worriedly departing from him, and as Samuel had failed to show up after seven days as he promised, the Bible says that Saul asked for the people to bring him a burnt offering and peace offerings, and he went ahead and offered the burnt offering unto the Lord, thereby acting in an office he was not qualified to act in. Sadly, as soon as he finished offering the sacrifice, Samuel came. This act of disobedience was partly responsible for him (and his descendants) losing his office as the king of Israel.

On 27 March 1977, the Spanish Island of Tenerife witnessed the worst aviation disaster in recorded history. On its small airport, the island witnessed an overwhelming number of aircrafts which were diverted to that location owing to an explosion at their intended destination. Due to congestion in the airport as a result of this incident, departing aircrafts were forced to taxi on the runway. Also as an airport in a valley, it was susceptible to thick fogs which was unfortunately occurring on this day, making visibility to be a great challenge. With all of these troubles in the hands of the airport controllers, they had to sort out departing aircrafts slowly and gradually. They asked one aircraft to taxi into position for takeoff and another to taxi and pull out of the runway at some point. Long story short, the pilot of the first aircraft failed to wait for final instruction to take off before commencing on the runway, oblivious of the other aircraft that was taxiing gradually to the point where they were to pull out of the way. This lack of patience caused the departing aircraft to crash into the taxiing aircraft. Both were Boeing 747, largest aircraft at that time. 583 passengers and crews died in the process. One pilot’s lack of patience caused the death of 583 innocent people!

In Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT), the Bible says:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  

Question: has the Holy Spirit produced these fruits in your life yet? Patience is not just a virtue, it can make the difference between life and death. It can change lives and change careers and mark the difference between success and failure. Have you heard of patience before? Do you possess the attribute or have you learned it yet?

What to Do?

Be patient in your daily activities and decisions. I cannot overemphasize this.