Happy New Year! I’m not quite sure when saying so attracts raised eyebrows rather than a cheery greeting in return, but we are still in January, so hopefully not yet! I hope that this is a year of growth for us all, and that at the end of the year, we look more like Jesus than we did at the start of the year.

Speaking of growth, I took some pictures with my kids recently, and as I was looking at the pictures, I took a leisurely stroll down my phone’s memory lane of photos. While doing so, I came across another picture I had taken with my kids almost 5 years ago. We were all sitting in the same position as in one of the recent pictures I had taken. I put both photos side by side, staring with fondness and amazement at how much they had grown in that time frame.

I got a message from looking at these pictures, and will be sharing it here. On a daily basis, I give my children nourishment and take care of them. But when I look at them day to day, I barely see any evidence of that. I don’t ‘see’ them growing on a daily basis. However, over a period of time, I can certainly see the results of all that nourishment.

I was encouraged by this message to be patient. There is a popular saying, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”. When it comes to patience, I am a work in progress. I am very grateful that God’s reservoir of patience is not as tiny as mine, as He works on me in this area. As such, this is as much a message for me, the writer, as it is for you, the reader. We might not always see the fruit of our labour immediately, whether it is praying for someone to come to Christ, responding to evil with good, or praying for a change in a situation we might be facing. However, we can trust that as we act according to God’s word, He also acts according to His Word. Even when the results are not evident immediately, we can trust that something is happening, God is working, and unseen changes are taking place.

Imagine if as a parent, I say, ‘I’m feeding these children every day, but I can’t see them growing, what’s the point, maybe I should just stop’. Well, no prizes for guessing what would happen.

If we planted a seed and initially watered it and cared for it regularly, but then got frustrated and stopped caring for it because it wasn’t sprouting as quickly as we wanted, then the plant’s life would end before it even had a chance to begin.

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

 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12, ESV). I love that it says to rejoice in hope, because to be patient, there must be hope that something will happen. And it is in that hope that our joy lies, and we get the strength to be patient! It is almost inevitable that there will be tribulation, so it shouldn’t surprise us. But we are asked to be patient in it, instead of giving up. The latter part of that verse is also translated as ‘continuing steadfastly in prayer’, ‘persistent in prayer’, ‘instant in prayer’, unwavering in prayer. There will certainly be things that can cause us to waver, but the question is, will we give in to them?  The good news is that we are not limited by our own strength, but by Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13), and thankfully, it is limitless.

I’ve shared this story before in a previous blog post, but feel it may be worth retelling here. “If you feel that you are praying, but nothing seems to be happening, I would like to share an illustration relating to the efficacy of prayer I once heard during a sermon. It stayed with me ever since, and may be helpful for you. Praying was compared to being on an aeroplane, high up in the clouds, and looking down below. When you are that far up, it looks as if nothing is happening on the ground, like there are merely tiny toy buildings, trees, and cars, not moving at all, or maybe moving ever so slowly. But as we get closer and closer to the ground, we see that there is actually some activity taking place. By the time we get to the ground, we realise that it is a beehive of activity, far more than we could ever see or even imagine! That’s how it is when we pray. We may not always see immediate answers to prayer…some prayers may be answered instantly, but some may take years. However, even when it looks like nothing is happening, something is. That we don’t see something happening does not mean it is not happening. When a flower is growing, we don’t necessarily see every single step of the process. Eventually we see the flower in full bloom, and stop, stare and marvel at its beauty.”

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait, it’s how we behave while we are waiting” – Joyce Meyer. So what can we do while waiting for the manifestation, the coming to fruition, the results? Well, we can:

• Praise God, and intentionally live a life of gratitude. Even if it feels like there is only one thing going right in our lives, that is still one thing we can thank God for.
• Pray relentlessly, without ceasing, and with faith; for when we come to God, we must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. I’ve written more on prayer here.
• Continue to Obey God, even in the seemingly little things; and
• Trust that the Judge of all the Earth will do right (Genesis 18:25). Sometimes, the outcome may surprise us, but it will not surprise God, and we can trust that He will do right. The resolution might not come in the way we expect. We might be praying for God to open a particular closed door, but He might be gently leading us away from that door to another that’s wide open, just waiting for us. But either way, as Nicky Gumbel says, “Until God opens the next door, Praise Him in the hallway”.

My prayer is that we are encouraged by the undisputable reality that God is working, and changes are taking place. Sometimes, the reason why the mountain moves slowly is so that it doesn’t crush us. “But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” – James 1:4. Remember ‘rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer’, and praise, trust and obey.

Image Source here