Love, Joy, Peace and...

"Be patient, then, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near...as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." James 5:7-8 & 10-11

In an era of instant gratification, patience is no longer considered a virtue. We are prodded by our media to buy, buy, buy, things we want or need (or one day think we'll want or need...). Traffic drives us crazy. Fast food never seems "fast" enough. I even find myself getting very frustrated with my computer's internet connection: heaven forbid a video or webpage takes longer than 30 seconds to upload.

Patience is a difficult thing to obtain, especially when the "you need it now" philosophy has been beaten into your mind from the moment you were born. However, patience is what the Lord calls us to have.

My youth pastor at St. Giles spoke on this passage last night. Lately, I have really struggled with turning over some difficult decisions over to God, and letting Him lead me. I tend to (as many of us do) like to take the bull by the horns when it comes to my big, scary, life decisions. God has been whispering to me to let Him have control, instead of the other way around.

Well, this message (like most from my youth pastor do) hit me like a swatter after a pesky fly. Dwight (my youth pastor) challenged us to have a "patient urgency" when it comes to our lives. In other words, when it comes to sharing the gospel with our friends, in the office, or just straight-up living our lives for Christ, we should do all we can today, while still waiting for the Lord to give us opportunities, or even answers about where He is calling us.

I think that is a message we all need to be reminded of: not getting caught up in the small stuff, living out loud for Jesus Christ, doing what we can today, and waiting patiently for his answers tomorrow.

Furthermore, thank you, readers, for being patient with my postings. I have been out of the Outlook office for a week, and have not been diligent with keeping up with the blog!