Patience is a Virtue: Wait on the LORD
I was honored to preach this sermon at Living Hope Community Church on August 11, 2024.
Have you ever heard the phrase “patience is a virtue”?
The dictionary defines patience as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”
Dr. Charles Stanley defines patience as “the will to wait”.
Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
Psalm 37:7
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:26
You don’t hear to many sermons on waiting. We live in a culture that values action. Seize the day. Go out and make something happen.
At best, our culture views patience as a necessary evil. At worst, I would say our culture hates patience.
We live in a culture that devalues patience, and values the exact opposite of patience – convenience. Instant gratification.
We have streaming television “on demand”. I don’t need to wait for a TV show to come on. I demand it now.
Don’t want to spend time cooking? We have Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Doordash so you can get a restaurant quality meal on your doorstep instantly.
We have Amazon Prime next day delivery, and now they even have same day delivery – I don’t even know how they do that, but you just hit a button on your phone, BOOM, same day it’s at your door. You don’t have to wait.
Our culture hates waiting. Studies show that if a website takes five seconds to load, 80% of people will click off of it and go to something else.
We live in a world where we won’t even wait five seconds for a website. Right? We want it now. It feels like agony to wait!
In the Bible, patience is also called “longsuffering”. Think about that. If you want something, but you have to wait to get it, you feel suffering. And if you have to wait a long time, it’s like suffering a long time.
Doesn’t sound very good, does it?
But the Bible says that longsuffering is a virtue.
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Be patient in affliction. Nobody likes affliction. Why should we be patient in affliction?
The Bible shows us that God is a God of redemption. He doesn’t cause all of our suffering, but God is working in the suffering to bring good out of the bad. In other words, when you suffer as a Christian, it’s not in vain.
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
Endurance and patience are related. To be patient, gives you the strength to endure. It gives you the will to wait. And when you build up that endurance, when you have that strength, the Bible says you become complete and whole, lacking nothing.
The one who is impatient suffers because he can’t wait to get what he wants – he’s lacking that thing he desires. But the one who is patient is not lacking, because he’s content through the waiting process.
How do we become more patient? Surely, there are strategies and practices that can help you to build patience in your life. But the good news is, you don’t need to muster up patience by your own strength.
Galatians 5 describes what are called “fruits of the Spirit.” If you believe in Jesus Christ and you follow him as your Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit working in your life. God has given you His Spirit to dwell inside of you and change your life, change your identity, change your very nature.
When you allow the Holy Spirit to work within you, God will grow virtues in your life just like fruit growing on a tree. They’re called the fruit of the Spirit. And we see these listed here in Galatians 5:22-23.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Galatians 5:22-23
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
I love the way the New Living Translations puts this. It says, “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Did you catch that?
Who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?
God produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. God works through the Holy Spirit to grow these virtues in our lives. And that includes patience.
In other words, you don’t need to muster up patience by your own strength. God will grow your patience as you surrender your life to him. That doesn’t mean you do nothing. Patience requires faith on your part. Patience requires courage. Patience requires prayer. A lot of prayer.
But as we do these things, God will grow your patience. It may not always be easy. It may require discipline from God. It may require trials. But rest assured, it’s for your good.
Sometimes when you pray, God will show you exactly what you need to do, all at once. More often, God will reveal one step. Only after you obediently complete that step, will God reveal the next step. Often, God will reveal his will for your life step by step. We feel frustrated because we just want to know everything God has planned for us, all at once. But God reveals his will slowly. It’s a journey that requires patience. But rest assured, it is for your good.
Sometimes when you pray, God will say yes. Sometimes he will say no. And sometimes he will say, not yet. We feel frustrated because we want answers now. But God is not in a hurry. He’s not in a hurry, but he’s never late. He’s a perfect God, and his timing is always perfect.
God’s will for your life will take time. The best things in life always do. Experiencing God’s will for your life is a lifelong journey, not an instant gratification. It’s not always easy. But rest assured, God’s will is for your good. Romans 8:28 promises us that.
Last Thanksgiving, my wife and I hosted a “friendsgiving” in Rhode Island. For those who don’t know, a “friendsgiving” is like Thanksgiving, but with friends invited, not just family.
For this friendsgiving, we made from scratch meat pies, shrimp, meat skewers, fried rice, jollof rice, beef empanadas, mac and cheese, candied yams, garlic green beans, bread buns, caramel budnt cake, and the star of the show: turkey wings. Not chicken wings. Turkey wings.
This took weeks of preparation. We had to drive up to a butcher in Malta to get the turkey wings because you can’t get turkey wings in Albany. Then the butcher didn’t have them, and I had to drive back a second time on a different day. We drove all the way to Rhode Island, and we made probably four or five trips to grocery stores to get everything we needed, and then we spent an entire day cooking before the friendsgiving event began.
It was incredible. One of the best meals I’ve ever had, and one of the best times with friends. It was a memory that will last a lifetime, and I cannot wait for Friendsgiving 2024 which may happen, if we’re not too burned out from the last one.
Now, we didn’t have to do all that.
We could have just ripped open a microwaveable TV dinner and called it a day.
Why didn’t we do that?
Obviously, that wouldn’t have been as good.
My point with this story is very simple. There will always be an easier, faster, more “convenient” way to do something.
But the best things in life take time. The best things in life require patience.
God grows patience in your life, because God wants the best for you. Patience is for your good.
There are many heroes in the Bible who learned patience.
Noah started building a boat – and a zoo – at least fifty years before the flood came.
Can you imagine? For literally fifty years, he’s got a boat sitting on dry land. No water anywhere in site.
His neighbors must have mocked him: “Hey Noah, why you got a boat on dry land?”
And Noah just had to say, “Rain is coming! It’s not here yet, but it’s coming!”
10 years later. Still no rain. 20 years. Still no rain. 30 years. 40 years later. Waiting. Waiting for what God promised to come to pass.
Sometimes, waiting on God will make you look stupid in the eyes of the world. Because the world doesn’t understand patience. The world doesn’t understand waiting on the LORD.
The world doesn’t understand that what God says will come to pass – not on your timeline, not when you want it to happen – but in God’s perfect timing, it will come to pass.
50 years of waiting. And then, all of sudden, one day, it began to rain. And Noah wasn’t looking too stupid anymore.
Patience.
How about Abraham? Turn to Hebrews chapter 6.
For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.”
Hebrews 6:13-15
When Abraham started out, he was just a guy worshiping idols in Ur of the Chaldeans – also known as Babylon. But one day the one true God spoke to him, and said, “go to the land I will show you.”
Abraham didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know why he was going. And he didn’t know how long it was gonna take.
We get frustrated because God doesn’t reveal everything all at once. He reveals his will step by step. All Abraham needed to know at first was one thing: go to the land. That’s step one. So Abraham obeys that step. He goes to the land, the land of Canaan, which would become the promised land.
And slowly, one step at a time, over the course of many years, God reveals more steps. God promises this land to Abraham and his descendants forever. There’s only one problem. Abaraham doesn’t have any descendants.
Patience. It’s not until Abraham is one hundred years old and his wife Sarah is ninety years old that Sarah gives birth to the promised son.
90 years old? Patience. God can work a miracle.
And this son of promise was Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, and Israel had 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Now one of those sons was named Joseph. Joseph was Jacob’s favored son, and he received a coat of many colors, a symbol of his father’s favor. Furthermore, Joseph had dreams which symbolized his brothers bowing down and serving him.
Sounds pretty good, right?
But there’s a problem. Joseph’s brothers become jealous. They throw Joseph into a pit, and sell him into slavery. Joseph becomes a slave in Egypt.
Then, to make matters even worse, Joseph is falsely accused of sexual assault, and thrown into prison.
In prison, Joseph meets the king’s cupbearer, who is also in prison, and he successfully interprets his dream. So he says to the cupbearer, “hey, when you get out here, put a good word in for me with the king, see if you can get me out of here.”
But when the cupbearer gets out of prison, he completely forgets about Joseph. So Joseph continues to rot in prison for years.
Finally, the king of Egypt has a dream, and somebody remembers, “hey, wasn’t there that prisoner who could interpret dreams?” So Joseph is brought before the king. And he says, “I can’t interpret dreams. But God can. God will give me the interpretation.”
Sure enough, God gives Joseph the interpretation. The dream means that there will be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine.
The king is so impressed, he puts Joseph in charge of Egypt, and Joseph, knowing that seven years of famine are coming, starts stockpiling food.
Finally, the seven years of famine come. There’s no food in Canaan, where Joseph’s brothers are starving. So they come down to Egypt searching for food.
They hear that there is this incredibly powerful royal advisor to the king who was so wise that he stockpiled food, as if he somehow knew that the famine was coming. And they come before him – not realizing that it’s Joseph – and they bow down before him and beg him to give them some food.
And when Joseph sees his brothers bowing down before him, he is so emotional, he has to leave the room and go cry in the other room where they won’t see him. And he weeps uncontrollably.
And finally, when he reveals himself to his brothers, they embrace each other, and they reconcile, and it’s this beautiful scene that you can read about in Genesis 45.
In that moment, the promise that God made to Joseph in that first dream that he had – all the way back when he was a kid – came to pass. Scholars say it was 22 years between Joseph’s first dream, and it’s fulfillment.
A 22 year long journey that involved suffering, slavery, imprisonment. But in the end, God’s promise came to pass.
Patience.
Turn to 1 Samuel 10. I want to end with one last record from the Old Testament.
In 1 Samuel 10, Saul is King of Israel. Israel is at war with the Philistines.
The prophet Samuel comes to Saul, and he says to him:
…you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.
1 Samuel 10:8
Now, read this very closely. God is speaking to Saul here through the prophet Samuel, and it’s very clear what God’s instructions are. Who is supposed to offer the burnt offerings? Samuel. What is Saul supposed to do? Wait seven days until Samuel arrives.
Samuel is supposed to make the offering. Saul is supposed to wait for Samuel. This is God’s instruction.
Now turn ahead to chapter 13.
Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul.
1 Samuel 13:7-8
So Saul is waiting, like he’s supposed to. That’s good. But there’s a problem. Samuel is late.
So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering.
1 Samuel 13:9
Wait a minute. Saul wasn’t supposed to offer the burnt offering. Samuel was supposed to do it. Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel. But he got impatient. He got tired of waiting, so he went ahead and just did it himself. Something God did not instruct him to do.
As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me and that you did not come within the days appointed and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD,’ so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
1 Samuel 13:10-14
Wow. Impatience has consequences.
We need to take impatience seriously. We need to root out impatience from our lives.
Some of you are impatient with your wives.
Some of you are impatient with your kids.
Impatience is not just a bad habit. Impatience can be sin.
Because if patience is a fruit of the Spirit, then impatience is a work of the flesh.
When we are impatient, we are forfeiting a blessing. When we are impatient, we are forfeiting the opportunity to grow in endurance, and become perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Saul and his descendants could have ruled the kingdom forever.
Instead, the kingdom was taken away from him.
With just a few hours of impatience, Saul forfeited eternal favor.
Impatience can ruin your life.
Saul could have ruled forever. Instead, he killed himself. That’s how Saul died. He killed himself, fleeing in terror from the Philistines.
All because Saul thought he knew better than God, what he needed to do.
See, I don’t care if you think you see a way to do something in your life that God is telling you to wait on. You might think, “It would be so easy to just DO it!” But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.
You might think it would be easy to just get married and hope that God blesses the marriage. But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.
You might think it would be easy to just start the business and hope that God blesses it. But if God is telling you to wait, then wait.
Saul’s kingdom was taken away from him, and it was given to man after God’s own heart – a man named David.
See, when David was just a little boy, the prophet Samuel anointed him and said, “You’re gonna be the next King of Israel.” But Saul held onto the kingdom was long as he possibly could.
David spent 14 years running for his life, hiding in caves because Saul was trying to kill him. All this time, David is supposed to be the King of Israel, but he didn’t actually become king for 14 years.
Patience.
The patience of David. The impatience of Saul.
We sabotage ourselves with our impatience. The blessings of God will come. We receive them through patience. We forfeit them through impatience. The choice is ours.
A pastor I know once said, “don’t bail before the blessings!” Don’t bail out of the boat, don’t run away before the blessings. The blessings will come. The payment required to receive them is patience.
Jesus lived about 33 years before his death, resurrection, and ascension. Of those 33 years, he only did ministry for 3.
30 years of waiting and preparation, for 3 years of ministry.
Patience.
What if God asks you to wait 30 years?
What if he asks you to wait 50 years, like Noah?
What if he asks you to wait 22 years, like Joseph?
Do you have what it takes?
In my life, God asked me to wait 12 years.
For 12 years, I prayed for a wife, every single day.
I prayed for a wife every single day, for 12 years.
I don’t think I ever missed a day. If I did, I don’t remember it.
If you counted up all the prayers I ever prayed for a wife, it’s over 4,300 prayers.
I prayed over 4,300 times for a wife.
Year after year goes by, I’m like “when is it ever gonna happen?” Some of you remember, I’m even up here preaching a sermon on singleness.
Literally thousands of prayers after thousands of prayers.
And I’m exploding with joy to tell you that, at the right time, God answered. He answered with a woman so far beyond anything I could have expected or imagined – a woman beyond my wildest dreams.
I share this story not to boast about how patient I am, but to boast about how great God is. To my single brothers and sisters, don’t give up. Keep praying. Keep seeking. Keep waiting.
Patience is radical. Patience is counter-cultural. The world doesn’t respect patience. The world doesn’t operate that way.
But Jesus Christ came to turn this world upside down. We need to get on board with his program, the way his kingdom works. It’s not the way the world works!
Pastor Michael Todd once said, “The only thing harder than waiting on God, is wishing you had.”
Waiting on the LORD is hard. It takes patience, endurance, longsuffering. Waiting on the LORD is not easy. It is a difficult journey.
But you know what’s even more difficult? Not waiting on the LORD. Not waiting on the LORD might feel good for a moment, but in the long run, you will look back and wish that you had waited. And that is so much harder.
Let’s choose the better path.
Let’s choose the path of his blessing and favor.
Let’s wait patiently on the LORD.
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