In Hebrews 6:11-12 we are exhorted to have diligence “so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Since it takes faith and patience to inherit the promises, why is it that we have a large faith movement, but there is no patience movement?
There are many exhortations in Scripture to wait upon the Lord, but I have never found one that says we must hurry. It seems that our biggest problem is waiting. Patience is a crucial element in receiving from God, and is linked here to faith because patience is perhaps the greatest element in real faith and real trust in God.
Patience is required to stay in the timing of the Lord. Moving in God’s timing is vital for His work. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and is required to be led by the Spirit. Impatience is the fruit of our fallen human nature and will lead us astray. What impatience compels us to do will not be a work of the Spirit. Impatience will lead us away from His will, and often seeks to counter His will. It takes the peace of God and faith in Him to wait for Him.
After the Apostle Paul recites in I Corinthians 10 the main events in Israel’s journey through the wilderness, he then says in verse 11: “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” So, Israel’s experiences leaving Egypt and going through the wilderness to their Promised Land are intended to be a map for our journey from bondage to the world to walking in our promises in Christ.
The most obvious, and perhaps most important, lesson of Israel’s journey was that the first place they were taken, and what was the only path to their Promised Land, was through a place that was the exact opposite of what they had been promised. They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey, and the first place that they were taken there was not even any water!
I have learned that whenever I receive a promise from God that for a time it will look like I am getting the exact opposite of what I have been promised. This is the place where our faith and patience grow, and the wisdom that will enable us to be good stewards of what we are promised.
The wilderness threw Israel off and caused them to start doubting the Lord. This caused them to lose their patience, and so they turned back to Egypt in their hearts, or to what they had been in bondage to. It does the same for many Christians. Like Israel, the lack of trust in the Lord, and patience for His timing, cause many to spend their lives just going in circles in the wilderness.
There is also a biblical principle that what we receive too easily or too fast is usually insignificant. The great messengers of God in Scripture and history were many years and even many decades in the making. The great promises of God likewise require great preparation.
Impatience is counter to faith in God and leads us astray from His will. This is why to grow in our faith we must also grow in patience. Both faith and patience are required to receive the promises. In Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, rest is equated with the Promised Land. The one thing that Scripture tells us to strive to do is to enter His rest. This doesn’t mean that we just sleep and lay around all the time, but in fact it is a rest that we experience when doing His work. That’s why Jesus promised that if we would take His yoke we would find rest for our souls. You don’t take on a yoke to go to bed, but to do work.
When we see any Christian who is constantly striving, running from need to need, emergency to emergency, with little peace, we can be sure they have departed from the will of God in their life. Those who walk in His will will have peace, and their faith in God will be demonstrated by their patience.
© 2021 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
