A Test Of Your Patience

When was the last time you tried to make a line of dominoes so you could watch it topple? If you’ve not made a domino race since you were a kid, I suggest you try it now that you’re an adult. Not that age makes a difference, but it’s just as much fun!

There are several reasons this game is so difficult. First, you have to have steady hands, which some of us (me) do not. You have to be incredibly careful as you add the next domino so you don’t topple your entire creation before you’re ready. And you don’t want anyone even breathing in the vicinity of your layout or all that hard work will be in vain.

What makes it so difficult to be patient? Is it our need for immediate gratification? Our desire to hurry up and move on to the next thing? The feeling that we’ll miss out if don’t get a move on?

And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5

This letter to the church at Thessalonians was written just a few years after Jesus ascended into heaven. He said He would return, and believers everywhere were trying to wait patiently for that day. But how hard is it to be calm and content when you know something amazing is coming? 

In 1 Thessalonians 3:5, Paul wrote that waiting for Christ would be a trial of their ability to wait. They were ready at that very moment, but God’s timing is perfect. Christ’s return in the clouds has been promised, but no one knows the day or time. If we did, waiting patiently wouldn’t be necessary - we wouldn’t have to trust in God to do what is best for us.

But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. 2 Thessalonians 3:13

Paul told the church that no matter what the people around them were doing, they had to persevere and stick by the stuff. They couldn’t abandon their faith in God just because some other people around them were caught up in sin. Paul’s encouragement was that their diligence and patience would be rewarded by God Himself, which was way better than anything.

As Christians, we’re waiting for Christ’s return so we can be together with Him in heaven. But while we’re here on earth, we still have work to do for Him. We are to tell others about Christ. We are to share our testimony with people who aren’t Christians. And we are to bring the light and love of Christ into a lost and dying world. We’re not just waiting patiently - we’re to be busy while we’re waiting. It’s our faith in knowing that our time here won’t be wasted that keeps us pressing on toward the mark and looking forward to the moment we see Jesus face to face.