Ezekiel 10-11 / Hebrews 6 / Psalm 105:16-36 / Proverbs 27:1-2
Doctor’s offices, grocery store lines, auto mechanic’s shops, customer service calls; all these are places of potential frustration. Why? Because all of them involve waiting, one of our favorite (not) things to do! LOL! There are times I’ll avoid these places and situations simply because I dread the waiting.
I am a bottom-line kind of person, so waiting is no fun for me! I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I have a feeling that most people are alike in not enjoying waiting; unless you have a good book to read. There are several examples in scripture where God gave promises and then people had to wait for the promises to be fulfilled.
One person who had to wait was Joseph. If you remember the story of Joseph, you remember that God had given him dreams as a young man. In the dreams, the sun, moon, and stars were bowing down to him. He probably thought the dreams would be fulfilled the next day. He certainly was not expecting to be taken into Egypt as a slave.
In Hebrews, we read about another man who had to wait for something that had been promised. The part I want to explore is how he waited. This is what Hebrews 6:15 says, “And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” New Living Translation, (NLT).
The waiting patiently part is the part I want to explore. We have two options when waiting: one, we can be impatient and frustrated. Or two, we can wait patiently finding something to occupy our time in the meanwhile.
Let’s first define the word “patiently” from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. “Patiently” means: “In a patient manner: with calmness or without complaint or hurry in spite of delays, difficulties, tedium, etc.”
Now let’s look at the word “patiently” in the Strong’s Concordance to see what we can find. In the King James version, (KJV) this verse says, “After he had patiently endured.” The Strong’s gives us a definition for endured. The word means, “To be long spirited, forbearing, or patient; to be longsuffering, to have long patience.” It can also mean, “Not to lose heart, to persevere patiently, and bravely, in enduring misfortunes and troubles, to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others, to be mild and slow in avenging, to be long-suffering, slow to anger, slow to punish.”
In looking at all those definitions, I see the potential for a manual of becoming more Christ-like just in this one word. I sincerely believe I could study this one verse and definition for an entire year. The reason I say an entire year is because studying without walking it out is not effective. Remember James 2:14-26 talks about how faith without works is dead. We’ve talked before about being slow to anger. I want to look at just one piece of the above definition. Let’s explore what it means not to lose heart. Let’s look at 2 Thessalonians 3:13 where it says, “As for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” New King James Version, (NKJV).
It can be difficult to maintain a good attitude and heart, as well as stay busy with good works, especially when no one appreciates or notices our effort. To, “Lose heart” would be to lose the will to maintain what God has given; whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically. God has blessed us with all things, and He expects us to tend what He’s given us so that we will be “fed” by those things and so we can “feed” others from the abundance of our blessing.
Did you notice that you must be the first one to be fed from the good things God has given? If you are not full, you cannot give to another. The blessing is yours and the overflow belongs to others. Please do not mix those two up by giving your blessings away to others. Keep the blessings and give away the abundance or the part that spills out from your life. Then you will never, “Go hungry” and you will never, “Lose heart.”
May you both be filled and overflow so that all your needs, as well as the needs of those around you, will be met by the Lord!
