Patience

"Can you wait for God's timing" was the challenging question that came from my devotion time this morning.

The Bible passage I looked at was 1 Samuel 26.  David and Abishai crept into Saul's tent and stole his spear and water bottle.  David did not kill Saul at this point.  It was against his conscience to do so.

However, David is a man who has killed before.  And he was a hunted man.  He could have changed his situation for the better if he had taken this opportunity to kill his enemy.

This wasn't his first opportunity either.  David had previously spared Saul's life in 1 Samuel 24, while Saul was taking a leak.

David was prepared to wait it out for an indefinite period, knowing that Saul would meet his demise at some stage, and he would take over as king then.  He did not need to rush into that.  He did not need to end his suffering early.  He would just wait, even if it was years before it happened.

Are we like this?

As I think about my aging, and what I wish to do before I became too old, I realise that I am not always patient.

As I think about the many roles I play, and the rush from one task to another, I think that I am often in a hurry.  I do not wish to remain at University for too long.  I do not wish to be idle for too long.

And when I think that Jesus is coming back again, I too wish that it would happen soon enough before the Church went into too much suffering.

How unlike the early church, who was willing to suffer knowing with certainty that it will meet Jesus!

How about you?  Are you looking forward to meeting your Master?  Can you wait for it to happen?  Or are you in a hurry to get there?

How do you feel about hard times?  Are you patient, allowing your suffering to prolong?  Or do you wish to end it quickly?