Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
WHERE’S OUR LONGANIMITY?
We often think we will do great things by faith. That we will inherit the promises by faith. Yes, that’s true, but only half the picture. Hebrews 6:11, 12 exhorts us: “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and PATIENCE inherit the promises.”
Sometimes we can give up on faith because things don’t happen immediately for us. We wait years for God to answer our cries. We wait and wait and it seems that nothing happens. But we must remember that it is not only faith, but patience! In our modern, hectic age, most of us have not learned to have patience. We don’t get any practice.
We don’t have to chop the kindling and then bring in the wood to light the fire (although that’s what we do each day); we just expect our heating system to keep us warm. We don’t have to boil the copper, scrub our clothes on the old scrubbing board, and then hang them out on the line; we just press a button on the washing machine and then the drier.
Many mothers simply cannot wait until their baby is born to find out if it will be a boy or girl. I’m not saying it’s wrong; just that we don’t have patience! Most children today have never experienced the longing and anticipation of waiting for something for months and months or even a year or more. And so we have lost the art of patience. I think it’s time we learned it, don’t you?
We forget that God lives in eternity. He is not in a hurry. He is not ruled by time, nor does He succumb to the timetables of our frenzied lives. But He always comes in the perfect time. He is Alpha and Omega.
The word Greek word “patience” in the above Scripture means longanimity. Have you have heard of that word before? It’s really another word for longsuffering and forbearance. It means that we often have to wait a LONG TIME, even though we are filled with faith, to receive the fulfillment and promise.
Take heart, dear ones. God has not forgotten you. He has you in the palm of His hand. He will deliver you in His perfect time. He will bring the answer at the right time. And as you wait, trusting in Him, He will fill you with joy and peace.
And remember, it’s not a patience of resignation. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to stick it out and wait.” No, it’s a patience of anticipation, always believing that God will come at the very perfect time.
Blessings to you today,
Nancy Campbell
