“…first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28b
It is the nature of things that are sound, that they rarely happen overnight, they often require time. Thus, in that interspace between input and output, there is that waiting period which requires an attitude that is expectant, but not anxious, a certain confidence that having to wait for a desired outcome is not a denial of it. That secret ingredient for every successful venture worth pursuing is patience. Patience supplies what constitutes the difference between peace, and an unnecessary burden of unrest for a person who must necessarily wait for a desired or expected outcome.
In Mark 4:26-29, Jesus described the growth of the kingdom of God as a development that required patience:
“And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
This is a description of a process that requires time, and the patience of the person waiting for the result of that process. It is noteworthy that the seed which is sown must go through various stages of maturity, the last being a ripened fruit, before harvest can take place.
The story is told of a third grader who was involved in a class project: a practical lesson on how seeds turned into plants. The excited child could not wait to see the seed he had buried become a plant. In wonder and deep expectation, he would pull up the seed every morning from the soil to see its progress and rebury. It is worthy of note, that he did not pull up the buried seed because he did not believe it would mature into a seedling. On the country, he believed in that eventuality so fervently that he could not wait to see it happen. But despite his fervent belief and hope, his expectation of plant growth did not happen because in his impatience, he did what ensured that he would not see a growing plant – he did not allow it the time to mature and to grow.
Is your first reaction to the boy’s actions a judgment on what was obviously a very foolish thing, or have you perhaps recognized in it something familiar?
Last week, I spoke of hope as an anchor for faith, a description set out in Hebrews 6:19. Today, I speak of patience, as the chain that holds the anchor of hope and enables it to perform its anchoring function.
In the maritime experience, the anchor chain (scope) is what links the anchor to the seabed and allows the pull of the ship to be horizontal, keeping it steady in a storm when the waves beat against the ship. A long chain will allow the anchor to hold firm, even when the storm blows; whereas a short chain provides a rigidity that defeats the purpose or operation of an anchor, and is sure to affect its operation, especially in a storm. An anchor is therefore only as effective as the length of the chain that gives it room.
Patience is the chain that provides room for the anchor of hope to hold steadfast. It is unhurried but steadfast, unrushed but purposeful. It is that depth of character that waits out an outcome, not because the outcome is not urgent, but because the patient person is unwavering in their confidence of a certain outcome, even as they give room for the process to work it out.
Patience is a test of faith, and is its own reward, for it produces endurance, which in turn produces character, and then a hope that is certain of performance (James 1:3).
Hope without patience is an experiment in anxiety and soul harassment!
I have been in a period of waiting, and I have found it to be difficult, sometimes unbearably so. While I have never considered myself a particularly patient person, I had no idea what an utterly foreign concept I would find it to be, in a necessary period of waiting.
Indeed, I confess that in the time I should have spent in prayerful expectation of largesse from a loving Father, I have champed at the bit and ended up with a sore mouth; I have engaged in a trot in my standing room and wearied my legs which went nowhere; I have saddled myself with heartache, renewed every few hours, and I have attained nothing at all. All the chafing and worrying have not changed the waiting period. Not one bit!
Perhaps I would have spared myself all that trouble if I had heeded the admonition contained in Proverbs 14:29a: “Whoever is patient has great understanding…”
This is wisdom learned at great personal expense. It is what has driven me to the truth of God’s word which reveals that God has never promised instant results for the things we seek from Him in prayer. After all, Lamentations 3:26 admonishes: “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.”
What God has promised, is an outcome which is certain and will be for the benefit of His child (Jeremiah 29:11).
We live in a world of ‘instant’. Most things are available within seconds at the click of an electronic device. Who waits in line for anything? It is among the reasons that the patience to wait for anything is perhaps more difficult in the present day than it was before all the advancements that have made life ‘easier’.
But God does not work with our timetable of ‘instant’. Indeed, Isaiah 40:31 promises that: “…they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
God works in His own timing. It is important for us to note that although He may appear to be unhurried, His steps are always firm.
It takes courage to wait for God’s timing when we seek answers, or his intervention, in the now. Yet we retain a choice: to live in anxiety engendered by fear and frustration that delay may cost us irreparable damage; to meet our need through self-help – which never bodes well; or to look to Him in quiet trust in His omnipotence, sovereignty, and kind heartedness.
I am convinced that it is contrary to the revealed character of God, that He will delay action on our behalf because He is unaware of the urgency of our need, or that He does not care what happens to us.
Yet in his intimate knowledge of us, His deep insight into things we could not possibly know, and His understanding of what it costs us to wait for Him, He promises a reward for those who with patience, wait for Him to act in their situation: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4 NIV).
It takes courage to trust in the heart and hand of an unseen God, especially when we have available options which we could resort to, to meet the circumstances we entrust to Him.
In the heroes of the faith: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and so many others, who had to wait for God to either fulfil His promise to them or to intervene in their situation, we have an example to follow.
They learned to wait patiently.
May we!
