Patient Endurance

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

We’ve been talking about waiting during this season of Advent.  Specifically, we are waiting to celebrate the birth of Christ.  We are also waiting for the second Christmas when Jesus will return to make all things new.  But there is a more general type of waiting that we all must do.  We wait for our prayers to be answered.  We wait for the time we’ve invested in people to produce a positive outcome.  We wait for opportunities to share our faith.  We wait for our hopes and dreams and our hearts’ desires to become reality.  But it sure is a lot of waiting.

But consider this: when we plant a seed, there is no expectation it will immediately become a flower or a tree.  There is always a period of waiting before the plant pokes through the soil.  Even when it appears nothing has happened, a lot is going on beneath the surface.  What are you waiting for today?  As you pray and hope and dream and work, don’t grow weary.  Don’t give up.  Things are happening that we can’t see.  God is at work.  And at the proper time, we will reap the harvest that God intends.