Barriers, Borders and Breakthroughs

(James 5:7-8) Be patient therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

This verse begins with the instructions needed to establish order. God does all things decently and in order. It lets us know that patience is something necessary in order to wait for the coming of the Lord. Patience is of the utmost importance, because we do not know the day nor the hour that the Lord will come.

We also can see from this verse that the Lord waits for the precious fruit of the earth and He has long patience for it until it materializes, He was patient for the early rain and is patient for the latter rain. In the process of waiting, how we wait is extremely imperative.

Being patient is how we are encouraged to wait. In the process of waiting and manifesting patience we are to establish our hearts, because the coming of the Lord draws near. The implications of not being patient mean that there are barriers that can dwarf our endeavors toward obtaining the fruit of patience, and that barrier is impatience. Impatience is a fence, an obstacle, a hurdle and a wall that obstructs our character and poisons the fruit of patience. It is a barrier that poses limitations, boundaries and restrictions. Impatience limits the transformation of our characters. We are called to bear fruits, to be longsuffering and patient just like God is.

Patience is endurance; it is tolerance; it is staying power; it is a lack of murmuring and complaint, and it is fortitude. It is what mercy consists of; we can't be impatient and exhibit mercy. God's mercy is everlasting, now that is a long span of mercy and compassion.

Establish is to start, create, begin, launch, institute or setup. Establishing patience entails a honest approach or effort. It is the dependency on truth, the launching of truth in the inner self. If you are operating in patience then you have come to an understanding. You have learned and you know how to wait. This place of waiting is a threshold. You know when the opportunity to yield to impatience comes your way, what you must do to win combat with yourself.

You must patiently wait and wait patiently. You must ascertain that only you can make the decision or put patience into practice. I can exercise patience in dealing with you, but I cannot be patient for you. Of course you have heard the old adage that practice makes perfect.

In life we will have mega opportunities to apply patience to a variety of episodes, situations and circumstances that come to try and test us and define who we really are. Practice what we preach so to speak. When we are faced with the opportunity to react irrationally, this is the opportune and defining moment when we must choose patience. It is a decision only we can make when we are being tried and tested. If you are not operating or walking in patience then you can always begin to incorporate this treasure in your life. It is better late than never.

I understand why patience is called a virtue. To possess the discipline to wait for anything in this life would be a virtuous effort. We are living in a fast paced world. The choice to wait doesn’t line up with the times we are living in.

The question we must ask our self is; will I allow patience to have its way in me, or will I allow anxiety to dictate, and hinder this precious fruit of the spirit, and dim the process of exercising patience in every area of my life. If you are not patient and walking in patience, it is never too late, start today!

Only we can decide whether we will live patiently in everyway and everyday. How do we activate patience? When a test or trial comes along, how I respond to it is of the essence. Will I murmur and complain, or will I seek the answer found in the Word of God? Will I allow the Holy Spirit to help me gain the victory in obtaining this fruit and change the root?

Anyone who knows me or anything about me knows that I take public transportation a lot, because I do not drive. Sometimes while waiting for the bus it is often late. I usually have the bus schedule and have an idea of times of arrival and departure. In the interim of waiting I have been faced with many different attitudes. At times I am anxious for its arrival and a sense of disappointment strikes me, when it is a no show. Some of these times have been turned into a song. I have hummed and written verses to songs, waiting for the bus to arrive. There are times I reason that it will be here in a moment or two. Then there are times I am annoyed and murmuring and complaining tries to surface and at these times I find that singing helps tremendously. Finally, there are those times that I just patiently wait. In each of these diverse scenarios, I have a choice of how I will respond, with patience or impatience.

How do we know if we are patient? I know that I am patient when I am faced with circumstances that are beyond my ability to comprehend, or to quickly resolve in the right way, yet in me there is peace and the ability to resolve the issue without murmuring, and complaining. I weigh my thoughts, I seek balance and I choice to solve my dilemmas with careful thinking by allowing the Word of God to influence my decisions and to be the final authority. When we consult the Word of God for the answer to any issue, we must be willing to accept the answer that it provides and be ready to put it into action. This type of thinking, reasoning and deduction will lead us to practical application of the Word and to experientially live patiently.

All of the Word is useful and realistic and leads us to experiential success. We can live the Word and must go into the it looking for the answer and when we find it apply it to our living. Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Jesus is the master of practical advice and when we take heed to what He instructs we are always enriched.

We can exercise patience with each other, but I cannot have patience through you nor you through me. The Holy Spirit can help our infirmities. The role of the Holy Spirit is to instill holiness in us. If we are not exhibiting the patience that we need to demonstrate He can help us, it is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We can never gripe over missed opportunities to exemplify patience, but examine ourselves and determine that we will improve our own behavior in the future.

Patience is a type of behavioral test. Are we behaving our self in accordance with the nature of God? Anger, bitterness, strife, and other attitudes hinder patience from being effectual. If God is so very patient with us, this is our motivation for a life of patience. I don’t think we have the right to be impatient with others. We gave up the right to operate in impatience when we decided that the fruit of the Spirit known as patience was better and more profitable. This awareness lets us know that mercy does triumph over judgment.

Operating in mercy always leads to patience, judging others leads to the lack of patience. There will be more than enough opportunities in this life to respond in patience for each and every one of us. Each victory will help us to win and overcome the desire to be intolerant, not just with others, but with the tests we are faced with. So beloved, put on patience, walk in it and your path will be full of light because patience is a breakthrough.