The Work of Patience

⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. – 1 Peter 5:8-10

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4

Most often, I pray for trials to go quickly.  I don’t like the presence of conflict, wrongs, insensitivity or blindness to Godly ways, intentional deception, unsaid emotions, and such.  Let’s just get it out and get over it.  I find that I am very sensitive to this now and when someone refuses to “get it out” I just get away from them.  They’ll figure it out when they’re ready because “ain’t nobody got time for that”. 

Yet, God instructs that although our adversary looks for ways to oppose us and purposely seeks our destruction, we should have patience.  We are to resist the ways of destruction, keep steady in our faith (unwavering), and be patient.  After we have “suffered a while” the “God of all grace” will “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle” us.  The patience works to make us “perfect and complete, lacking nothing”. 

We know that we are not complete except in Jesus and are therefore not perfect until we are resting fully with Him.  Considering this, how then can the testing of our faith which produces patience make us complete?  It is through the nudging, pushing, and encouragement of a trial that leads our faith so that it is made full and rests in a state of complete dependence upon Jesus.  When we finally let go and decide that God will do this or it can’t be done; when our only hope rests in a miracle from Him; when it is God or nothing; then is our faith perfected and completed through the perfect work of Jesus Christ.  Oh, would we start everyday desperate for His perfect work in it and in us! 

Once our faith has been made whole, the patient work of Christ, with all our hope upon Him, begins.  The victory is His victory.  When we have a complete faith in our Savior, we lack nothing, because we quickly see that there is nothing else.