Ecouragement

The Gift of Patience

It seems that patience is one of God’s greatest gifts to man. But we often put it on the back burner.

For example, we often talked about Job’s faith but seldom mentioned his patience, which was instrumental in his struggle. If Job had not had long wick patience, he would not have endured without complaining. 

So what is patience? According to dictionary.com: Patience is the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

Therefore, Job not only believed in God’s promises, but he trusted in his faithfulness and relied on God’s character and loyalty to act. But he also had patience and a whole lot of it.

I think Job needed three things to work in tandem, like a three-legged stool during his struggle-faith, patience, and endurance. Faith alone would not work. Because the people who encouraged him to curse God and die had faith. But they could not stand to see him suffer for so long. So their patience had a short wick like many of us.

The Bible says, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before,” (Job 42:10).

Where does Faith come from?

How can Faith be increased?

The Word say, “Faith comes by hearing , and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Since this is true, Faith increased as believers filled their lives with the Word. Hence, believers have so little Faith to exercise because of the lack of the Word of God filling their lives. So, the more Christians exercise themselves in Scripture; the more their Faith will grow.

There is one disclaimer to this rule, some believers make it a ritual to read the Bible, some even memorize it, but their Faith doesn’t seem to grow. Does this nullify the truth that the Word of God brings Faith? No. The Bible says, “it is not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). 

It also adds, “It is the spirit that quickened; the flesh profited nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63)

Exercising oneself in the Scripture without the illumination of the Spirit is less effective or, like the Bible say, ineffective to increase Faith. 

I Won’t Let Go

When your heart is hurting, present your needs to God-through Christ, you have full and immediate access to the Father.

Does God Test Those He Chose To Lead?

Of course, God tests His chosen! There is a mountain of Biblical evidence that God often uses hardship to try His chosen ones. Moreover, quite often, those tests resemble the trials and tribulation the devil place upon us.

So, aside from the hardships that come naturally on your Christian journey, there are also more than a few tricky situations that God uses to test your commitment and resiliency. Therefore, as you navigate this narrow path, it is of paramount importance that you understand that not every trial you face is designed to destroy you. The Bible says, ..” the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” (Hebrews 12:6).

For example, Job 1: 1-3 states, “There once was a man named Job, who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.”

Still yet, God allows Satan to visit terrible trials upon Job to test him. And in a short period, Job lost all his livestock. Then a desert wind blows down his house, killing all of his ten children. And when Job did not falter, Satan doubled down and afflicted him with painful sores all over his body. Unable to help her husband, Job’s wife urges him to curse God and die. However, Job stays true to his commitment to God.

And in the end, “the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before” ( Job 42:10)…So he lived for another 140 years.

Hold On To Me- L Daigle