God says keep going…

 

When looking at my quilts or talking to a non-quilter at a show, I often hear, “I don’t have the patience to quilt.” I sometimes think, “How then will you get patience?” But I don’t say it. God tells me how to grow in patience, but most of us don’t like His method.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

What does it mean to be patient? The Bible uses patience, perseverance, endurance, and steadfastness to describe God. He patiently withholds judgment for a time and allows for repentance and salvation He uses this to define people who are reliable, faithful, and true to the end. Jesus was steadfast. 

Trials produce this quality using these English words to describe the ability to trust God no matter the situation. In other words, patience is not about a quality needed to produce a desired result. It is about the quality needed to wait on God for the desired result — and God does not stitch up my quilts.

I’ve given much thought to this idea of needing patience even to create something. Would the word “motivation” be more suitable? And to go deeper, would “love” be better? In the context of raising children, a parent needs patience to keep teaching them. Love desires that they become responsible, well-behaved adults. As for quilt-making, motivation can vary. For me, it is the desire to show the recipient that they are loved. I’m also created in the image of God so creating something useful and hopefully beautiful is part of who I am. Yes, it is often hard work and perseverance must replace procrastination, yet patience isn’t the biggest issue.

Actually, the alternative to patience is: “I want it now” and that statement tells me that I’m not mature — since maturity is often defined as the ability to wait for delayed gratification. Applied to quilting or anything else, it is the attitude of wanting something without having to do anything or without needing to wait for it. Interesting that the NT adds this as an addition to faith and part of my spiritual growth. I noticed that it follows another important word:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5–8)

Self-control means selfish desires under control or selfishness yielded to the Lord, and a careful read shows this is part of becoming more like Jesus and better able to persevere or keep on. A person of faith shows lack of trust in God’s timing by always ‘wanting it now’ instead of being patient with God.

That said, making quilts for me can be a patient-developer only if I’ve lost my original motivation to show God’s love to people. Then it is just another chore on my to-do list. Instead of that happening, perseverance and all that is required in the process helps me realize that if my list is just  ‘more chores’ motivated by duty instead of love.. Even housework or grocery shopping can be done out of love for others. Changing the motivation for why I do them makes a huge difference in my attitude while I do them. 

Impatiently wanting anything ‘done and over with’ is a faith matter too. I am not trusting God when I get upset with not seeing the results of what I have asked Him to do:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Quilt making has helped me keep my eyes on the promise (the finished project) even when it is unseen. I don’t need to have the end result in my hands to keep going, just as I am learning that I don’t need to see the resolution or answer to all my prayers instead of keeping my focus on God’s promises. If anyone tells me they do not have the patience to quilt, maybe this could be an opportunity to ask about motivations for why we do anything?

PRAY: Jesus, patience is a big topic. You are a big God, otherwise I’d never keep going without the desires You grant me to do things, to meet needs and show Your love to others. May You persevere in granting me perseverance and the faith to keep on when the work is a challenge or those around me do not understand the reasons why I do anything You put on my heart to do. 

Jesus patiently keeps His Promises

 

Every morning I turn on the kettle to make myself a cup of tea. A few times I can’t recall doing it so touch the kettle to see if it is hot. My memory failure never affects the kettle. I flipped the switch and it does what I asked of it, whether I remember or not.

Faith in Christ is always about Him, not my failures and inabilities. I’ve trusted Jesus to save me and keep me in His care. If I fail to follow perfectly or have doubts or worries, He remains faithful. My doubts are merely evidence that I might be trusting my performance instead of His promises.

Sadly, if many Christians are tested by the presence of doubt in their lives, this gives evidence that their faith is not as strong as the trustworthiness of Jesus Christ. He said “Believe in me” to be saved, not “Believe in your performance” or “Believe because you are getting everything you want” or “Believe only when you never fail.”

James says that trials are able to produce patience in me. That is a reason to rejoice (James 1:2-4) for God is at work so I can be mature in my faith. Maturity shows up in many ways, but an important one is patience. When a person is patient, it even affects the way we pray:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:1–8)

In this parable, the woman persisted in her request to a judge who was not anything like God, but that judge eventually gave in to her request because she persisted. She did not become impatient and take matters into her own hands.

When I pray to God, this is often my test too. I ask, sometimes for years, and sometimes try to make the answer happen only to realize that my efforts only interrupt the process. God is using the trial of waiting to build patience in me. My interruptions and self-effort only serve to put me back in the classroom taking ‘Godly Patience 101’. Once that is in place, God turns to my request.

Jesus’ question is pathetic: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Too many only trust God when their lives are comfortable, health is present, children are walking with Jesus, food is on the table, blessings abound. But when anything is missing, or when we slip up in obedience, guilt and the sense of our failure changes contentment to anxiety and worries that God has turned His back, forgotten His promises. Who are we trusting? And what are we trusting Him for? A more revealing question might be: What do I trust myself for?

PRAY: Jesus, when I rely on myself, I am always disappointed. I should never blame You for my sense of failure nor think that You have let me down when the opposite is true. If I am trusting me and feel let down, it is never Your fault. Help me to confess my sin and lack of faith in You and be forgiven and cleansed. You promised to keep me and are true to keep Your promises, even when I fail to remember that I asked You to do just that.

Waiting with patience

In our busy lives, my husband often teases me about the multiple ideas that come into my head. I say I want to make this quilt, or change that, or do something and he smiles and says, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

That is a good question, but not in the usual sense. In our world, people are in a hurry and seldom enjoy waiting for anything. Traffic is one example, as is Christmas. It starts right after November 11 even earlier. Children display impatience too, every time they say, “Are we there yet?” However, I’m not thinking about the impatient kind of waiting, but the waiting we do with great anticipation.

For instance, today we attend a birthday party for a cousin. He is soon going to be 100 years old! Visiting him yesterday was a delight. He is excited about this party and preparing his ‘speech’ with great anticipation. He was not impatient in the sense that he wanted the party to happen ‘right now’ but in the sense that he was looking forward to it.

Christians are supposed to have that kind of anticipation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. However, this morning’s devotional passages opened my eyes to another example of waiting, not what I am supposed to wait for but what Jesus is waiting for!

“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12–14)

Jesus waits. The word used means to expect, yet it is tied to patience. It is like waiting for the bread to finish baking in the oven, or waiting for the rose bud to open into full bloom. It is knowing with certainty that something is going to happen, but not yet, and not being anxious that it happens asap.

Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He knows that all those who oppose Him will bow with the rest who already acknowledge that He is Lord. He sits at the right had of the Father with that knowledge and waits for it to happen. He is not anxious, but patiently expectant.

These verses even illustrate this with another concept. Jesus has perfected His people by His sacrifice. In Him, we are perfectly righteous. In this life, we are set apart for Him (sanctified) until that perfection is made evident. It is like having a million dollars deposited in the bank for me. That money belongs to me, but it is not ‘spendable’ until withdrawn. I have the perfection of holiness, even though most of it is on deposit!

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, my cousin’s party starts in a few hours. We are excited. However, I’m also waiting with anticipation for the Your appearing and the fulfillment of Your promises. We are not there yet, and most of the time I’m not impatient. But I must admit that on occasion I say, “Please come, Lord Jesus.”

LATER: What a lovely party! We feasted and sang, visited and made new friends. The party has come and gone, but left us with wonderful memories. Thanks to all who conveyed their best wishes. My cousin is tired, but totally happy.

Reaching for God

God’s man Habakkuk was given a vision. At first he was totally dismayed. How could God use wicked people to judge people more righteous than themselves? Essentially, God told him to be patent . . .

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

Sometimes patience is confused with ‘I don’t care.’ It is easy to be serene about a thing if it doesn’t matter. However, this is not the waiting that God was asking for. It carries the idea of endurance, staying power, and in this case, keeping eyes on the vision that God had given. Because God is a solid rock who keeps His promises, patience finds its source in Him, in His very nature and faithfulness. The New Testament writer said of Moses: “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27)

For the people of God, patience is closely tied to faith. We can wait on those promises and for those visions because we trust Him to keep His word. The next thing God said to Habakkuk was a judgment against his enemies, and encouragement to trust Him.

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)

Habakkuk was dealing with a national issue, but living by faith is for personal issues too. Years ago, God revealed something to me concerning the salvation of a family member. Looking for signs of that happening is easy, but when I do that I am not walking by faith or waiting on God for the reality of that vision. Walking by faith means trusting that God will do what He says, regardless of what I can see or not see. This means being devoted to God, not to the issue at hand. It also means I might go through a time of “temptation in the wilderness” where I get no word from Him, but I can endure that dark spell if my gaze is on God and not on what I want Him to do.

Sadly, much of my faith has depended on seeing God at work rather than seeing God, but today’s devotional reading points to a deeper truth. As Chambers says, trusting God is like reaching out for more than I have ever grasped. It is never being quite satisfied spiritually along with the idea that I can endure because I know God will eventually satisfy me, not so much with what I think I want, but with Himself. Paul knew this reaching, but he also knew the prize; it was the upward call of God, not anything to do with his spiritual growth or sanctification . . .

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:12–15)

Chambers says if I have only what I experience, I have nothing. But if I am inspired by the vision of God Himself, then I have more that can be experienced. For me, this is a deep and profound challenge.