Good Things Take Time

Patience

It is by attempting to reach the top in a single leap that so much misery is produced in the world.

William Cobbett 1762-1835, British Journalist, Reformer

James 3:13-18
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. NASU

God, if you let me win with this lotto ticket, I’m going to give 10 percent of all of that money to the church. Have you ever made these kinds of deals with God? It may have been a relationship deal, God, if you fix, my husband, or wife, then I will go to church every Sunday, and tithe. The problem with “if and then” statements is that they put demands on God and none on us. The real problem is in us, we are going to do something if…something is done for us.

God does not deal in these kind of situations because He wants to see change in our lives, a turn around in our “behavior.” God knows our hearts, and He is not listening to our lips, but He is looking deep inside of us and looking way in front of us and He keeps us from destruction. We want to hand God a small gift to “get our desires” and God has seen that in us before, in the Garden where we first were pulled down by demonic, earthly and natural desires.

Simply put it is called selfish ambition, and this is that fork on our life’s road, a point in our lives that we must all come to. We will either take the road that is gentle, and peaceable and reasonable, sown from a righteous and patient heart, or we will succumb to our own unbridled passions. Lyman Abbott, an American Clergyman, said this of patience, “Patience is passion tamed.”

What does that mean? It means that God wants to bless us but, He also wants to see from us fruit from the growth of wisdom in us, and that takes time. We in today’s world want everything right now and God says good things grow slowly and are built with patience. Francis Bacon the British Philosopher believed it a very serious thing to get in to big of a hurry, he once said that “Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul.” Let’s slow down, we are approaching eternity and what we are building here will last forever…let’s take wise advantage of “His Time”…God Bless.

Pastor William