“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (Psalm 37:7)
If you know me very well you know that I’m very persistent. Over the past four (4) years I have pursued and achieved at least six (6) significant accomplishments in my life. This is a product of my determination and persistence, even to a fault. The fault is found in the fact that my persistence has not always been in line with the Lord. I, like everyone else am a sinner saved by the grace of God, through faith alone in Jesus Christ. This means I get things wrong and my persistence has led me into needless impatience. In fact, this is in contrast to the fruit of the spirit that advocates for patience. In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith.” As a result, the Lord in recent months has been calming my spirit and allowing me to embrace His leadership concerning persistence and patience in my life; enter in the picture below.
This picture emphasizing patience is the newest decoration for my office. To be fair, I have no idea what rocks stacked together have to do with patience, but I was grateful for the deal I received on this decoration. LifeWay Christian Bookstores had the portrait on sale at 90% off. In addition to the steep discount, LifeWay actually allowed me to add another 25% discount on top of the original 90% off. Therefore, I was able to purchase this encouraging picture on patience for about $4.00, even if I’m not sure its connection to the rocks.
Regardless of the picture’s original meaning it holds significance to me. This is because; since the Lord has been leading me through His lessons on patience for my life I have been eyeballing this picture for months. There was even a time when I almost bought it when it was at 50% off. But, I patiently held out than persistently buying it prematurely. I figured if someone else purchases it then I can live without it. However, by denying my persistence to rule my life and instead allowing my patience to provide me with the proper clarity, I refrained from making an expensive purchase. In the end, the Lord allowed me to have this personal reminder concerning the blessings of patience over persistence, even at a pleasant price.
It is important to remember that persistence has its place, but it should always fall subject the ways of the Lord. Otherwise, like Psalm 37:7 indicates we are attempting to “prosper in our own way” and that is an “evil device” because we fail to submit to the Lord’s way for us. This is how the Lord has been teaching me patience over persistence, which has resulted in a more pleasant Christian walk and ministry. I feel much calmer and confident in Christ than ever before. As a result, I look forward to His future lessons.
In the meantime if you want to help me figure out what rocks and patience have to do with one another, I’ll gladly take your suggestions. If not, I’ll be patient on the portraits meaning until the Lord reveals the significance to me. For now, I’m just pleasant for His leadership in teaching me how to merge my persistence with His patience.
Blessings,
Mike
