Tribulation produces patience

By The NewsDay | Nov. 14, 2015 | 4 Min read

THE nature of life is that at any given time you and I are waiting for something to manifest or materialise in our lives. By faith there are things that we’re convinced will show up in our lives. We often miss them because we fail to last the waiting period for their appearing to us.

Longanimity is the support system that delivers our desires to us. Patience transcribes our desires and promises from the nebulous realm into reality. Without patience we will be stuck and hopeless running directionless like a decapitated chicken Everybody wants to be great, but nobody wants to go through the trouble, pain and tears that often precede our desired outcome.

Sometimes the road to the promise exposes us to shame and embarrassment. To fulfill your destiny, heaven dispatches necessary resources, both human and material at various stages. You’re not born, and marry and go to school and university at the same time. It happens in stages. To be born simply means that you have been given a physical body to conduct the affairs of earth. In other words you have just been released from eternity to operate in time. What this means is that all you need is already there where you’re coming from (the spirit realm) but you have to grow in stages and access the necessary provision. Albert Einstein puts it thus, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

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Functioning in the earth realm means you’re subject to time. You receive a promise from God either as prophecy or Rhema (illuminated Scripture). Since God is in eternity or timeless existence and you live in time, His promise becomes subject to time. This means whatever you want to achieve happens at the optimum time moved by your input according to the sovereignty of God. Your growth and preparedness have a bearing on the realisation of the promise. This brings in the issue of waiting which needs patience. The process of waiting brings along tribulations. Tribulation is the major ingredient for patience if not the only one. Romans 5:3 says, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” The muscles developed by tribulation are called patience. We praise God in our tribulations because we’re certain of the finished work of the cross of Calvary. There’s something great that’s being accomplished through the predicaments you go through.

Operating from the Kingdom of God you’re aware that everything starts as a seed and grows. No matter how fast you may become, it will always take time. For some it will be slow while others grow and acquire with speed. Some are fast as a microwave while others are on paraffin, gas or electricity stove. The rate at which you learn and grasp determines your move to the next level. There’re students who are fast learners and their teachers jump them grades. Some sit for their ‘O’ Level examinations while doing Form 3 and pass. While we cannot deny that there’re fly by night cheats and crooks we also need to appreciate there’re people that are learning and grasping things fast. There’re couples celebrating their silver jubilee but are still dealing with quarrels of newlyweds. Whether you’re slow or fast as light, you will always be subject to time. Because of the bureaucratic nature of the world, patience remains a virtue to envy.

We need to emphasize that we shouldn’t cut corners but we should also need to be aware that the world is changing and life is improving. I have heard this generation being accused of being microwave generation. I may not be able to contest or agree with it but even food prepared in a microwave takes time though less time than the traditional methods. My take will be that the time has to be adequate and all steps followed. In accounts you may dislike computers and use manual methods and work overtime and produce your year end results 2 years later. Gone are those days the world will not wait for you.

Whatever time it will take you to get results, there’s always a waiting period. You will certainly start small and grow. Jesus teaches in Matthew 13:31-32, “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: [32] Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” Allow due process but don’t be cowed into laziness and procrastination. Maximise your tribulations to cultivate patience without which you cannot get anything worthwhile. Though degrading, remember that what is good to you isn’t necessarily good for you. You’re going somewhere.