I have been speaking a lot lately about how God turns our faithfulness into greatness. And I believe it is true. But I am starting to realise that with that faithfulness we need a strong dose of patience.
My friend was today finally recognised as his son's dad. After years of trying cutting through the red tape of the adoption process, it is now official. Years of faithfully being a dad despite it not being official. Years of patience. And his son is a real blessing! But the full outcome of his patient faithfulness is yet to be seen.
In ministry I find patience to be non-negotiable. Either you have patience, or you find another job. Not that I am the world's most patient guy. But in the end, my urgent is not everyone else's urgent.
Does that mean I should quit? No way. It means I should be patient.
God is not the god of instant gratification. He is in no rush. And when He calls, He seldom calls us to do something right now. Instead He calls us on a particular journey, and asks us to be faithful to sticking to the path He lays out. And for those times when the path seems to be leading nowhere, He gives us His Spirit, and His Spirit gives us patience. And so we soldier on.
As the wise teacher in Ecclesiastes shows us:
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
So will you be faithful in the things God has entrusted you with? And will you be patient when the outcome seems uncertain?
