Veggie Tales - Patience

So it has been a couple of months since I planted our veggie garden, and I’ve been learning a lot about patience along the way.  Our pumpkins are flowering, so now we continue to wait patiently for pumpkins, then, better yet, pumpkin fritters!

Patience

Hebrews 11 is an incredible chapter on faith.  First, it tells us what faith is – confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don’t see. (Hebrews 11:1)  While the world would say that “seeing is believing”, faith tells us the opposite - that God’s Word is true even when we don’t see it, and that we actually need faith in order to see it.

Next Hebrews 11 tells us why we need faith – to please God – and what to have faith in – that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)  What are the rewards?  All the promises and blessings that we find through prayer and studying His Word.  Remember drinking in God’s rain often falling?

Hebrews 11 also gives some incredible examples of regular people who, because of their faith, fulfilled their callings and were rewarded by God.  It takes faith to receive what God has promised us, like a hand reaching out to receive a gift. 

And often times it also takes patience…

The relationship between faith and patience can be compared to brakes on a car.  Faith is like the brake itself which brings about the desired result – stopping the vehicle.  Patience is like the foot that keeps the brake engaged until the vehicle actually stops.

So what is your desired result?  What have you been praying for in accordance to God’s Word and will?  Finances?  A spouse?  An unbeliever to be saved? … Oh, wait, that’s me…  Does it seem like your prayer will never be answered? 

Often times we surrender to the circumstances we see around us because they seem so real.  We pray for finances, but see bills.  We pray for healing, yet feel sick.  So we give up our faith before God gives us our blessing.

Mark 11:24 says this, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Notice that received is past tense.  It already happened.  But also know that God’s timing isn’t ours.  There are all sorts of reasons a blessing or promise isn’t received when we think it should be.  Faith knows it already happened from a spiritual perspective.  Patience keeps us believing until we receive it in the natural.

The Lord has promised us that believing is seeing!  We just need to be patient!!