Scripture

For examples of patience in suffering, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord…For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. 

~James 5:10-11, NLT

Quote

Patience is the companion of wisdom.

~Augustine

I don’t like to plagiarize and yet it is hard for me not to edit when I do an extended quote. The following comes from a little devotional, PRAYERS TO START YOUR DAY {by Criswell Freeman}. Are you a person in a hurry? If so you may be in for a few disappointments. Why? Because God never hurries and He operates on His own time table: therefore life requires patience and lots of it. Lamentations 3:25 says, “The LORD is good to all who wait for Him.” But for most of us, waiting is very difficult because we are in a hurry to get things done. We are fallible beings who seek solutions to our problems today, not tomorrow or next year. We are like the man who was praying for patience: he said, “LORD give me patience and I need it right now.” The next time you find your patience being tested, slow down and think about what is happening. The LORD is teaching us to wait. Some times life cannot be hurried and if you insist on hurrying anyway, you will miss countless blessing.

Well the above is not word for word, but it is close. My daddy would give you the shirt off of his back but he had no patience. He had endurance but no patience and there is a difference. One of our pastors was making an argument for the King James last Monday but James five is a classic example of your needing to know how to use Blue Letter Bible or else have a NASB. The Greek word for patience is makros-thymos. Makros means long and thymos means heated. It is the same word from which we get thermos. When you put them together, it means a person who doesn’t get hot fast; it takes them a long time to get heated. My daddy could heat up in a second and guess what; he gave that gene to me and I gave it to my children. If our patience was gun powder, we wouldn’t have enough to blow our nose. The second word, also translated patience in the KJV is endurance and it too is a compound word, hypomenō, hypo means under and menō means to abide, to remain. Put them together and you have the ability to stay under a burden. Trust me, being a pastor can be a blessing but it can also be a burden. Some people can not stay under the burden; they cannot bear the pain and suffering that goes with the responsibility.

As to patience or waiting patiently, I still grade very low but time has slowed me down. Being a granddaddy has advantages. I am not tempted to relive my life through my grand children. I am more concerned about their character than than their athletic ability or their GPA. I think all my children will agree: I have shown much more patience with the grands than I did them. I know that no one wants to grow old but it has its advantages. We learn over time to slow the pace.

One other thing helps me and that is the fact that Jesus has been so patient with me. He has never pushed or shoved me and He has allowed me to get it wrong a hundred times before I finally get it right. I think HIM for HIS infinite patience and I want to be like HIM.

EXTRA

What about them BRAVES! What about an all SOUTH World Series? What about those $900 tickets in Atlanta . It might be cheaper to fly to Houston and get their $400 ticket. I don’t like the late night games. I made it to the 4th inning. The World Series should be the first week in October and played in the day time. That way working people can at least listen on radio.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.