Patience is a virtue

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love ~Ephesians 4:2

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~Romans 8:25 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~Romans 12:12

If there’s nothing else that God has been teaching me while working in Texas and doing what it is that I am doing, He is definitely teaching me and showing me that patience is a must as well as learning to slow down. (And there are other things He is showing/ teaching me but that's not for this post)

If you know me at all, then you know that there are times that I am not the most patient of people around and when it comes to getting things done, I would rather get it done the same day and quickly rather than wait and take a long time. While there are times where I am able to get things done at my own pace, which is usually as soon as I can, there are many times where that is not the case, particularly when it comes to meetings and working with the communities which those are the two things that I am involved with the most.

It seems to me that patience is a theme that I have tried to speed by most of my life. While there are times that I can be patience, there are other times that I need to remind myself to be patient and be in the moment. That takes me to slowing down. This is something that I am definitely not the best at. I would rather be doing something than nothing and I would rather get things done as soon as I can and not put it off rather than drag out the process of getting things done. Even when I was told that I had bronchitis and then pneumonia, I would still be “on the go” rather than slowing down like I should have since slowing down and being patient are hard for me to do.

This post title and content came about after being in one of the neighborhoods this past week helping out. While things did get accomplished, I realized that I had to keep reminding myself to be patient and go at their pace to get the stuff done and work along side them rather than doing it myself. That’s a lot of what the program is about, ministry with not for. However, I am realizing more so after last week that doing ministry with is hard and it is definitely harder than doing ministry for. However, when you do ministry with then you have created a longer impact than you would have if you just go in and do ministry for. But ministry with 100% requires patience and a need to slow down and we need to realize that even if we don’t see much progress, there is still an impact being made and trust being built. But if you go in and do ministry for and do things yourself, then you will have done damage and trust would not have been built.

So, what is God wanting you to be patient about or who do you need to be patient with? Where is your weak area when it comes to ministry with or how are you doing ministry with rather than for? It’s not easy but as scripture says, we will see the results if we don’t give up. So, don’t give up when you don’t see results like you wish or things are taking longer than you would like, be patient and trust God with the outcome and with the process. After all, patience is a virtue!

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~Galatians 6:9