Where We Need Patience Heb. 12: 1 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

We need patience. We are to run our race with patience.  Our race is an endurance race, not a sprint.  The need for patience in our Christian lives is essential in our:

Finances – Prov 28:22 – if you have to go into debt to buy something, it may be that you are too hasty in your desire to acquire it.  Give God time to provide for you.  Be faithful to the Lord in your giving.  Budget for your purchases.  Don’t be impulsive in your purchases.  Save the money and then buy.  By the time you have saved the money, you may decide you don’t want to make that purchase or that God has changed your mind.

Marriages – Prov 7:21-23 – that “spark” of attraction between a young lady and a young man [Prov 7:7] is so powerful that it convinces young people to get way too serious way too quickly.  Slow down.  Give God an opportunity to make his desire known.  A young man needs to follow God.  Then, he must wait patiently to see if the girl he is interested in is willing to follow him.  It may be that she wants him only if he doesn’t want to be so serious about God.  That’s a good relationship to break off.

Words – Prov 29:20 – slow down before you speak and measure your words.  There’s far too much foolishness in conversations today.  And you’d better be very careful about what you say before God [Ecc 5:2].  God will hold you to it.

Ministries – 2 Tim 2:24 – don’t be in too much of a hurry when ministering to others who have gotten off track.  You’ll give up before they get right with God.  Sometimes, it takes folks a long time to get back on track.  And you can’t rush the process or they may never get right with God.

Fruitfulness – Lk 8:15 – like all these other areas where we need patience, we must wait patiently to bring forth the fruit that God desires to bring forth in our lives.  It takes time for the fruit of the Spirit to mature and “ripen” in us.  It takes time for the word of God and Christ’s righteousness to bear fruit in our lives.  You can’t rush these things.  And when you have sown the seed and watered, you must wait patiently before you attempt to harvest the fruit.

Suffering – 1 Pet 2:20 – we must take suffering patiently.  You can’t be sure when God might intervene to help you.  And until he does, if he ever does, you are going to suffer.  Fighting it only makes the matter worse and makes you mad and bitter at God.  It is interesting to realize that shortly after the suffering ends, it is hard for you to remember how bad it was and how long it was [like childbirth].

Hope – 2 Thes 3:5; Rom 8:24-25 – Jesus is coming.  We must never give up hope.  I was first told that the Lord would return on May 14, 1989.  And I believed it.  Here we are decades later, still waiting.  I haven’t given up hope and I’m still just as excited about his return as I ever was.  He’s coming, don’t you worry about that.

Conclusion: run your race with patience.  Good things take time to develop. Therefore, we need patience. Make sure to be particularly patient in the areas about which we have spoken today.