It's Wednesday

Sometimes the one thing that brings entertainment may also be a curse!  I was a little excited when management at work had flat screens installed, however, I should have seen the writing on the wall.  Most all of them are now devoted to airing major news stations from around the nation.  The television in front of my cubicle just happens to be tuned into MSNBC full time.  I think I have seen enough national and world news to last a life time!  I have had my fill of political rhetoric and commentary; not to mention the awful show anchors that head up each show segment.  Each day we vote on which host will earn the "Captain Obvious" award, and I digress.

Unfortunately there are countless people creating news around the nation who make decisions out of carnal instinct and/or emotion.  I found this piece today which struck my fancy and thought, "Why not share this with anyone who will listen?!"  Here it is.......and Happy Wednesday!

       

Patience

There's a difference between patience and perseverance. Patience is having the right attitude for the moment. Perseverance is having patience over the long haul. We're often not good at either, but both are needed in the Christian life. Thankfully, God's mercy allows us to develop our patience and perseverance when trials ruffle our feathers—or threaten to shoot us down.

 

 

Life throws us curveballs, like losing your air conditioning, being delayed in heavy traffic, or waiting for hours for the doctor to see you. These events test our patience in the moment.

Perseverance, on the other hand, is patience on steroids. It's patience applied over time. It's waiting weeks, months, even years for the prodigal child or spouse to come home. It's putting your faith in God that He'll sustain you when your family member has a really bad illness. Perseverance is having faith that God will give you strength to care for your disabled child for their rest of their life.

 

King David knew all about life's tough trials. He was on the run for his life from his best friend's father, Saul—a man whose own life David had spared on several occasions. His perseverance was running on fumes. His faith was taxed to the max.  He finally cried out, “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). That's a fair question. But look where David goes with his crisis of faith—he puts his trust in God's mercy (verse 5). He knows God will be compassionate and ultimately save him from his trial. In the New Testament, I like the way James puts it: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2, 3 NIV).

 

-Al Robertson