The Trying of your Faith Worketh Patience

I was sitting in the sanctuary at one of the local churches.  One of my baby sisters was graduating. (The local homeschool group has a graduation ceremony every year).  I was listening to the speaker and trying to not be distracted by the squirming little brother in the seat next to me when my ears pricked up.

"Patience produces answers, answers confidence, and confidence a faith in God which nothing can move." Wow! Patience produces answers... there's a thought.... If we "waited patiently of the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry." (Psalms 40:1) Patience produces answers.  Now, I know from personal experience that patience doesn't always produce the answer we want.  But it does produce answers. God given answers.

And now I am sitting here.... staring at what I just wrote...acutely aware of my own failings. Very aware that even today I had a terrible lack of patience.  Rarely a day goes by that I don't that I don't ask God for an answer.  Every day I fall short of patience, everyday.  But the more I think about it.  I realized that even though I've been waiting over 10 years for some answers.  I'll wait a lifetime for others.  Even though I think that the waiting has been long enough and learned my lesson,God still has a lot for me to learn and isn't finished with me yet.

And you know what.  It's not just a straight line: patience-answers-confidence-faith.  It's actually a circle.  A circle that begins with faith, faith to be patience and wait on God for the answers, answers that will bring the confidence that will strengthen your faith enough to be patient and wait for the next answer.

"...If ye have the faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." ~ Matthew 17:20
and
"Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith nothing wavering:..." ~ James 1:3-6a