Patience...Who, Me?

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, 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 count as 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 5:7-11 Man, I gotta tell you that patience has never been my strong suit at all. It's an area I struggle in considerably. I want what I want & I want it now, in my time & on my terms. Patience, what is that? Well, in the season of life I'm in, God has been teaching me much about patience. Talk about being stretched out of one's comfort zone... The devil has thrown up every roadblock & obstacle he could to try and make me give up. Fortunately, what I lack in patience, I make up for in sheer determination. I do not give up and I don't accept defeat easily. Still, the Lord has shown me Scriptures about being patient along the way. "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." Proverbs 14:29 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12 Funny thing there--the house I grew up in as a child, the house number was 1212... God has interesting ways of catching your attention. Then there's the Love Chapter, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." 1 Corinthians 13:4 And continuing the love theme, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 We need to show compassion towards others and give them godly direction and advice, "And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone." 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Really God? Believe me, I love people and I want to see people come to know the Lord more than anything. But, some of those people really get on my nerves! Some refuse to hear you, some are completely defiant, some are just prisoners of their own poor life choices & can't see a way out. They often won't listen to reason & sometimes get defensive when you're trying your dead-level best to help them. Don't get me wrong, I make a mess of things sometimes when my other character flaws exhibit themselves. I can be horribly blunt in my speech and in expressing my personal opinions and typically don't care who hears or disagrees with them. Really, I'm the guy that you don't ask an opinion from unless you really want it because I'm gonna be honest and that honesty might hurt your feelings. I don't set out to, but it happens because I'm not too good at flowering things up & making them sound pretty. I just give brutally honest responses. But patience...really? I'm still working on myself & what's better is that God is still working on me. I know I have to make Him scratch His head at times because I've always been the precocious sort & now that I've lived almost six decades on this earth, I suspect the possibility of that changing is pretty small. I read about Job & his patience. Evidently, he was a better man than I can ever hope to be. But, I'm still forging forward with my head down and a great deal of stubbornness and determination. Whether you classify those as character flaws or character qualities, it's how God wired me when he knit me together in my mother's womb. There are struggles in this life, but God uses them, uses me, and uses you--flaws and all--to accomplish His Plan. I won't pray for patience...because you get trials to help you develop said patience & Lord knows, I've got enough trials without bringing more on myself. Wisdom, Favor, and Anointing--those are the things I pray for daily. But, that patience thing...who, me? Help me, Jesus! Blessings! Tony