Patience may be one of the most undervalued character traits! In Scripture it’s hard to fathom how God’s plans unravel over 40 days, 40 years, 400 years, 2,000 years, and now we’ve been waiting at least 4,000 years. Let me put some people to those numbers.

40 Days

• The torrential rains of the flood fell for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah and his family were in the ark. The floodwaters took much longer to subside.
• Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days.
• Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days.
• Elijah traveled on foot for 40 days on one meal.
• Jonah preached that Nineveh had 40 days before judgment, and the Ninevites repented.
• Jesus appeared for 40 days before he ascended into heaven.

40 Years

• Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert.
• Israel lived under the oppression of the Philistines before God used Samson to begin to deliver them.
• Kings Saul, David, Solomon, and Joash all reigned 40 years and at least began as godly kings.
• Moses’ life:
  • Raised in the Egyptian palace for roughly 40 years.
  • Lived in exile in Midian for roughly 40 years.
  • Led Israel in the desert for 40 years.
• Times of peace under Judges: Othniel, Deborah and Barak, and Gideon each led victory over God’s enemies, then Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace following.

Roughly 400 Years of Silence

From the time of the last prophet to the birth of Jesus.

Roughly 2,000 years from Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden to God promising to bless the nations through Abraham’s Seed.

Roughly 2,000 years from Abraham’s covenant to its fulfillment in Jesus Christ!

God is not in a hurry.

40 days is longer than I want to wait for anything. If a restaurant takes 40 minutes to prepare my food I’m getting pretty impatient and probably not coming back. I’m used to buying things with the click of a button and having them in 48 hours or less.

Now that I’m over 40, 44 to be exact, I’m getting the idea that some things, all the best things really, take time. Some of the most valuable things like fine wine, gold and precious stones, wisdom, a good marriage, a family legacy, fine craftsmanship, masterful works of art, all take many years to develop.

It is written, “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.” (Proverbs 4:7)

And, “Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3–5)

Wisdom is clearly both a skill and a gift that is absolutely necessary if I want to make a difference, a lasting impact on people and the world not just today but for decades to come.

I recently heard a message about the great William Wilberforce who was certainly a force for good in his time and his work led to the end of the slave trade and eventually slavery in the British Empire. The work to outlaw the legal slave trade cost him nearly 20 years of grueling work and being an outcast amongst his peers. And he continued working toward the abolition of slavery for decades. In 1833 Parliament passed the legislation that would abolish slavery throughout most of the British Empire. Wilberforce died three days later.

Roughly 40 years.

Do any of us have the fortitude and focus to make a 40-year effort? To pray, sweat, and bleed for freedom of those who are in captivity?

I wonder in this generation (in Scripture that means in our time) who will set their nose to the grindstone for the coming decades to set people free who are living in darkness in our communities.

There are some issues that have been popular headlines or in political campaigns for the last three decades. We are asked to engage in the culture wars with all our might. As Christians we are called to seek the heart of God, not TV, radio, and social media, for how we should pray, where we should go, and what deserves our time, attention, and effort.

It takes much more patience to wait upon the Lord. It’s so much easier for me to respond with a quick comment to a social media post, or celebrate an online video, or amen a newsfeed.

What does God require of me?

“No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
(Micah 6:8)

What does it mean to love mercy?

We ought to spend more time meditating on that than we do being frustrated about what the enemies of God’s Kingdom are up to.

And that brings up another area where it’s hard for me to have patience. God says to me, Sam, LET ME DEAL WITH MY ENEMIES. (Romans 12:19)

They are his enemies and not mine after all.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the churches about a similar problem. They were struggling to love mercy, seek justice, and be humble, and Paul instructed them and us. The entire passage in Ephesians chapter 6 is all about the kind of patience that we can only have if the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives in us.

Children obey your parents, Honor your father and mother, Fathers don’t provoke your children, but discipline them, Slaves obey your masters, serve them like you’re serving Christ and Masters treat slaves the same way.

Then it gets interesting. Rather than defeat the enemy Paul says put on your armor and stand against his strategies.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
(Ephesians 6:12 BSB)

Well I guess it’s not the people that frustrate me that I’m standing against.

The enemy doesn’t necessarily have to convince me to stop caring about justice. He can tempt me to pursue justice without mercy, courage without humility, truth without love, or victory without surrender.

The flaming arrows of the enemy are actually arrows meant to pierce my heart. They can tempt me to become indifferent about people being mistreated, or to fight for what is good while allowing anger, pride, or contempt to take root in me. I can fight for something good and still need to ask what the fight is doing to my soul.

There is a battle strategy that Jesus, our commander in chief, has given us. His title is the Great Shepherd and Psalm 23 is his battle plan.

The Lord is my shepherd it says, so I lack nothing.

I’ll focus on what he’s provided, not what I think I still need.

I’ll lie down in submission.

I’ll quiet myself and receive from him.

What I need most is for my soul to be refreshed.

I’ll follow him, not try to lead him.

Even when everything is going wrong I’ll remember who is with me, the Shepherd, his staff that guides, his rod that disciplines and protects.

I want weapons to fight but you make a feast and bid me to come, lie down (Middle Eastern style) and have your fill of all the delicacies of his goodness, and drink till you’re over-brimming with his peace, love, and joy.

Once satisfied we praise him and he inhabits the praises of his people. His heart and his will extend on earth the same way that they fill the heavens. His victory manifests wherever he reigns in the hearts of his people.

We submit, get our sustenance from him, surrender the fight to him.

He pours his Spirit on us.

Enemies and frustrations fade from view.

His love and mercy apprehend me.

He is my Master, my Shepherd forever.

In my peace and praise his victory is manifest.

He is so patient with me.
He always comes after me.
He fights my battles for me.
He is in it for the long haul.

Oh Lord help me to wait patiently on you. To seek wisdom, to love and forgive and stay humble.