The Struggle of Patience

            Why do we struggle with patience? One reason is the lack of foreknowledge. If we knew that our deliverance was just a minute away, we could easily wait. If we knew it was five years away, at least we would be certain and be able to cope with the timeframe. But we do not possess the ability to know the future. For all we know, our deliverance could be one minute away or one decade away. And if we think the latter is more likely (more on this later), then that just makes room for impatience and all of the sudden, the unknown becomes our master. We must realize that God knows the future, which also means that He knows the right timing for everything (cf. Gal. 4:4).

            If we think the worst case scenario is more likely to occur and it does not, the lack of patience leads to the lack of trust. We start to worry that He is never going to come through for us. And that might just be the reason why God is making us wait. He knows we struggle with doubt. Does that struggle mean that God will not come through for us? Certainly not. We have an inspired account of a man who struggle with unbelief, admitted it to Jesus, and was still given what he desired (Mark 9:14-29). The difference between that man’s doubt and the doubt that James mentions is that the former is a struggle and the latter is a complete rejection of God. Thus the “double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”. A faithful child of God who struggles with doubt is not unstable in all their ways.

            What does God do to help us? Trials (James 1:2ff). Trials have a way of teaching us about patience. Ask any decent parent if having children taught them patience and if the things that they used to be impatient about become trivial. Ask a cancer survivor if it became easier to wait for God after He healed them. Ask a wealthy Christian if their impoverished past helped them learn to wait for good things. It was Isaiah who said that learning to wait can help one to run without weariness and to walk without fainting (Isa. 40:31). Does not that sound nice? To be able to handle life better? Our response then should be to “count it all joy” (James 1:2).

            There are many obstacles when trials come. One of our worst obstacles is prosperity. Living in America can be more of a curse than a blessing sometimes. Our prosperity tempts us to trust in blessings that give us that security (e.g., stable jobs, a pantry full of food, a strong military), but when those things go away, so does our security. Suddenly, we cannot handle life without our blessings. Perhaps we need that insecurity sometimes. Perhaps we need to be “burdened beyond measure” and “above strength” to realize that we are helpless without God (2 Cor. 1:8-9). When that realization comes, God has us where He wants us. Once we are broken, He can fix our doubt and impatience. He can mold us into that beautiful image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).

            If you struggle with impatience, pray for God to help you. It would be great if patience was an automatic trait, but that is not how it works. We need to trust that God knows what He is doing. Sometimes, He might “put the pressure” on us to shift our faith from us to Him. For that we should be thankful. So, next time a trial arises, use it as an opportunity to say, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10).