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"Let's get movin'!"
"Come on already!"
"We don't have all day!"
"Let's goooooo!"
My words -- far too many times. The words of impatience.
Sometimes as a leader, I need to justifiably motivate others, create some urgency. So it's not that such language is inherently bad. And like many leaders, I consider myself a do-er. So the more we sit around and talk about things, the more it can feel like we are just letting time slip away. (We are burning daylight, people!!) But it is easy to have such words -- and the indignant mindset that can often accompany them -- become commonplace in daily living, crossing over quickly into frustration with others or with events or with myself because we are not working within MY timeline or MY agenda.
I get called up short on this whenever I reflect upon Galations 5:22, where the Bible praises patience as a fruit of the spirit. In other words, if I truly am becoming more like my Maker over time through the work of the Holy Spirit, people should increasingly see me being the patient man I aspire to be, rather than the impatient one I have been or too often still am. But old habits die hard. Even to the degree, ironically, that I can get impatient with myself about not becoming more patient!
This brings us to the passage above, where the word patience can initially seem an odd fit for someone who is running a race. That's because we often connote patience with some type of passive waiting or gentle tolerance. But in the above passage, the runner does not passively wait for slow-pokes or gently tolerate cheaters. No, a Christian runs the race by persevering through difficulties. In the Bible, patience is persevering towards a goal, enduring trials, or expectantly waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. It's a very active, robust sort of patience. (https://gotquestions.org/Bible-patience.html)
And here's the heart of the matter. Oftentimes the biggest barriers that I face in my "race to the finish" are ones of my own making, with my own impatience as a major impediment -- impatience which is often rooted (if I'm being totally honest with myself) in my own feelings of inadequacy, fear, or overwhelming in taking on the situation at hand. Not trusting that God will provide me all that is needed for HIS plan to work out perfectly within HIS timeline if I am simply willing enough to give up "control" of all of these concerns and place them in His hands, rather than in my own.
So the overall question for ongoing reflection: Can I lay aside all the obtacles and shortcomings that can distract and entangle me in my daily living so that I can remain fixed on the final goal? In other words, can I place my trust and patience in He who holds the keys to the eternal, knowing that, in the end -- in God's hands and in God's time -- all is well!
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Dear Lord,
Creator of all that is, thank You for Your boundless gifts, but particularly for the infinite patience and grace that You bestow upon me, though I come up short time and time again. May the patience You model help me to grow in patience with others and with myself. And may the patience that I aim to increasingly reveal to the world be the active, robust sort of patience which endures trials that arise, persevering to the very end, trusting that You have allotted sufficient time to accomplish ALL in Your plan, including whatever contributions You might have in store for me in the final resolution.
In Your Almighty and All-Loving Name, I pray and place my trust.
Amen.
