Be patient until...

One thing we must come to grips with is the fact that there will be days full of happiness and times of discouragement. We must be very careful in those down times.

Moses got discouraged, struck the rock in anger and it kept him from the promised land. May we be encouraged to never strike the rock. Let us not allow any circumstance, issues of life, or our momentary situations define who we are. We must learn to be patient, until...

“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.” James 5:7-8

One of the most irritating things that can happen to an oyster is to get a grain of sand in its shell. It can drive the oyster crazy. Oftentimes, they can remove it, but when they cannot, they become very irritated, frustrated, exasperated almost to the point of losing their minds. The oyster which can change the situation learns to soothe itself by covering that one speck of sand over and over again with a liquid substance in their body until it solidifies. When this process is done, that sand and the liquid of the oyster has made a pearl — an object which is valuable to us. Yes, those expensive round beautiful balls are the fruit of an irritated oyster.

My point is that if there are no grains of sand irritating the oyster, there can be no pearls. God is telling us that when we are irritated, use that to make pearls in our lives. There are no pearls without sand.

For us, sometimes sickness, debt, relationship problems or suffering of some sort means we have to trust God knowing our pearl is on the way. Look at Joseph who was second in command in one of the greatest Empires of all time, Egypt. Yet, he had many grains of sand. His brother betrayed him and sold him into slavery. Potiphar’s wife lied on him and had him put in jail. The butler deserted him even after he had helped him. Only after he had gone through many trials of life did he reach such a glorious height and that with the blessing of God.

Or, what about Moses, who took it upon himself to kill an Egyptian and had to run for his life? For forty years, he was in Midian waiting on what should he do, wondering where was his God? Yet, in a due season, he saw a bush burning on a mountain side that would not be consumed. There, God gave him orders to go back to Egypt assuring him that he was equipped to do anything and that His God would be with him. Moses became one of the greatest leaders, lawgivers and liberators of all time but only after forty years of sand.

We must learn to see things from God’s point of view. Instead of looking at life from the bottom up, we must learn to look from the top down. It is all about perspective. It is all in how we look at life with its many hardships. Let us practice patience.

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan.” Romans 8:28

God loves us unconditionally and He expects us to be patient and to wait on Him. He may not come when we want Him, but He is always right on time.