Patience, we are told, is a virtue, and I’ve no doubt that’s right. It’s also a very rare gift! Which of us hasn’t stood waiting for the bus to arrive or the kettle to boil and cursed softly at the time it seems to be taking? All too easily we spend our lives racing around, one eye on the clock, begrudging every wasted moment. Yet the result is not only that others are made to suffer but that finally we do too, for, in our concern to save a few seconds here and there, we end up failing to appreciate all the time God has given us. That’s what this session, taken from my early book Are You Listening?, explores.
God, I asked you this morning for patience
Patience, we are told, is a virtue, and I’ve no doubt that’s right. It’s also a very rare gift!
Which of us hasn’t stood waiting for the bus to arrive or the kettle to boil and cursed softly at
the time it seems to be taking? All too easily we spend our lives racing around, one eye on the
clock, begrudging every wasted moment. Yet the result is not only that others are made to
suffer but that finally we do too, for, in our concern to save a few seconds here and there, we
end up failing to appreciate all the time God has given us. That’s what this session, taken
from my early book Are You Listening?, explores.
Read
As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient? Job 21:4
Reflect and pray
God, I asked you this morning for patience,
for help to take things more slowly,
to stay cool,
unflustered,
in control.
But look what’s happened.
I’m as bad as ever,
worse if anything.
When the doctor’s surgery was running
a few minutes late
I sat there fuming,
and when the lights turned to red on the way home
I could almost feel steam rising,
as though my head must surely explode!
It’s the same every time.
I don’t mean to snap at anyone –
I just can’t help it.
I don’t intend to complain –
but before I know it the words are out
and the damage is done.
What happened, Lord?
Weren’t you listening?
Doesn’t it matter to you?
Don’t you care?
My child,
I hear what you’re saying, believe me,
and I can see that you’re doing your best.
But I’m afraid there’s only one answer I can offer,
and you’re not going to like it,
for it’s what you’ve asked for,
what you’re so desperately seeking –
patience!
That may sound nonsensical,
but it’s true,
for I can’t just give you patience,
much as I’d like to.
It has to be cultivated,
developed with time like everything else,
and that means learning
to live with all those situations
which test your patience to the limit.
So when you feel the steam rising, ask yourself this:
‘What’s the hurry?’
That job you’re breaking your neck to finish,
is it as important as you think?
The deadline you’re trying so hard to meet,
will it really not wait?
And those precious few seconds
you’re so desperate to save,
will you ever fill them?
I doubt it.
If you could only pause for a moment and take stock,
life would seem very different.
You may think you’re saving time,
but you’re wasting it –
so concerned with the minutes you might lose,
you’ve lost sight of the hours you have.
Don’t worry,
I heard your prayer this morning, loud and clear,
but to understand my answer you must realise this:
for patience to grow it must first be stretched!