The Blessings of Patience

The Blessing of Patience
By: Dr. Danny Purvis

I know I am not providing nay breaking news here…but in case you haven’t noticed…human beings are not very patient. Granted, there are some who are way more patient than others, but we all have moments where our impatience erupts in one way or another. I consider myself a fairly patient person. But put me behind someone who is checking out 11 things in the 10 items or less lane at the grocery store and that patience begins to…let’s say…wane just a bit. And without even looking very hard I found more than 30 verses in Scripture that tout the virtues of patience. I am quite sure there are many more. Why else would God talk so much about patience unless it was a problem for us? Simply put, He wouldn’t.

And often times our lack of patience rears its ugly head when we ask God for something. In this era of connectivity, we have an enormous access to information. This is, like most things, both good and bad. It is good in the fact that we can get previously hard to find information in a matter of seconds. It is bad because we can get previously hard to find information in a matter of seconds. See how that works? There was a time when getting certain information was time consuming and took work. We would have to go on a search for physical sources and work for the information…wading through mounds of texts. Now, we put the request into Google and wham! There it is. Literally in a matter of seconds without leaving our recliner. While the speed of this is laudable, it does help feed that monster of impatience that resides in all of us. However, God does not work like this.

God desires for us to ask Him for things (John 14:13-14). He enjoys giving things to His children (Matthew 7:11). However, there is a caveat. First, the thing we ask for has to be in accordance with His will (1 John 5:14-15). Second, the answer may be, “no” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). And sometimes (here is the one we really don’t like) God tells us to wait. And that is where patience comes in. I maintain that most people can take a “no” from God better than we can take a “wait” from Him. God may indeed completely answer the request we make to Him in a way that we would like to see Him do. But He will do it in the time He deems best. And being impatient by nature, we often have a very hard time with that answer. But here’s the thing…and this is important. He always has a reason when He tells us to wait. Always. And that reason always benefits us in some way. He does say “wait” because He is too busy; or too distracted; or too tired; or because He does not care. He says “wait” because there is something we need to see about Him. Patience actually leads to more of an understanding of Who He is. Patience is a gift…from Him…to us.

There is no better example of this than Jesus’ interaction with a man named Jairus. The most in-depth treatment of this event is found in Mark 5:21-43. To give you the Reader’s Digest version if this, let’s look at the basics of the story. A synagogue ruler (generally these guys were not fans of Jesus) named Jairus comes to Jesus in hopes that he will heal Jairus’ sick daughter. Jesus agrees to accompany Jairus back to his home. But something interesting happens. As they are traveling to Jairus’ home, Jesus has an interaction with another person in dire straits. This is the unnamed ‘woman with the issue of blood’, as she has come to be known. You know the story. She had an illness that had plagued her for 12 years and as Jesus was passing by, she reasoned that if she could just touch His clothes, she would be healed.

She was right. That is exactly what happens. When Jesus knows this, He stops and demands to have a conversation with the woman where she explains what happened (of course Jesus knew this was going to happen). And as we read this unfold, there is someone we tend to forget about. Jairus. Remember, his daughter was sick and he was desperate to get Jesus to his home before the daughter died. And what does Jesus do? He stops and has a prolonged conversation with this woman. If I am Jairus, I am going out of my mind. He had to have been freaking out wanting Jesus to hurry up and get to his daughter before she died. Which is exactly what happened. Not long after Jesus healed the woman, messengers came to Jairus to deliver the news: His daughter had indeed died. Then the messenger said something interesting. “Why trouble the Teacher any longer” (Mark 5:35)? In other words, there is nothing Jesus can do.

Jesus then made this incredible statement to Jairus: “Fear not, only believe” (Mark 5:36). Why did He say this? Because He knew that Jairus had put all his apples in one basket. That basket? That Jesus needed to be there while his daughter was still alive. Healing the sick was one thing. Raising the dead was something else. But the side miracle of the woman is the key here. Jesus referring to her as “Daughter” (Mark 5:34). The woman being sick for 12 years and Jairus’ daughter being 12 years old. These are not coincidences. Jesus knew the daughter would die before He got there. He knew Jairus would need to see Who he truly was in order to believe. And that’s why Jesus waited in this instance. He answered Jairus’ request, but He waited to do it. Why? Because He got sidetracked by the plight of this sick woman? He got “delayed” on His mission to Jairus’ house? No! That healing of the woman was as much for Jairus as it was for the woman. The wait was so that Jairus could know Jesus better…and trust Him with the impossible.

Sometimes God says “yes” to our petitions. Sometimes He says “no”. Often times He says “wait”. And though that is the answer we least like…it is the one we most need. To wait upon the Lord is to grow closer to Him. Patience is indeed a gift. One of the greatest that He gives us.  

 -Dr. Danny Purvis