The heavy spirit of our nation and world is weighing us down. We can feel the weight of it when we hear the speech and see the confrontations of those who are opposite our own views and thoughts. There is a large segment, of which I can relate, who want the turmoil to go away. We consequently wake up each morning facing the turmoils of our times. The work of peacemakers is daunting. The Lord tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers ,for they will be called children of God”. Mathew 5:9. I want to raise my hand and ask God; how can I be about peacemaking with the people refusing open their minds to change and refusing to empathize? The thing we all need is convincing powerful solutions. This is why I ask God for convincing power. The most difficult conversations are between people who have convinced themselves about and issue or person before the actual conversation is taken place. I know over the years I have been the one with this pig headed attitude when confronting certain situations. Thank God, I was introduced to Jesus and the Holy Spirit has been patient enough to influence my mind and turned my thinking around in many ,(not everything,to my shame), situations and ways of thinking.
Parents like myself have and advantage of watching our children and learning to see areas of their lives they had or have become stubborn and unreachable. If you are like me you have learned to pray for God to intervene on our behalf to change the mind of our child. These prayers tend to be heart felt and pure thus bringing about change in God’s timing. I want to stress the point about God and His timing. Perfect timing is not up to us ,but God. God speaks to us with eternity being His time reference.The older people and younger people speak and move differently ,and so it is with God. How old we are influences how we talk about time and patience. The immature Child says, “I want a cookie”, parent responds, “not now, later”. The younger the child, the bigger the challenge to be patient. The adult child will probably laugh and move on with assurance the cookie will be theirs in time. The clock ticks and our appetite has not changed; we still want the cookie. The Bible is full of passages about patience and the rewards of a life of faith and patience. My favorite Bible quote about patience is Isaiah 40:31,” but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” This image of people waiting on God is about the resilience and strength they get from waiting on God. Often, I suffered from impatience and thus forfeited the strength and resilience promise in the Isaiah 40:31. The child that has a temper tantrum learns just how tired and worn out we can be from an inpatient spirit. This is the challenge before us all. The issues of racism and injustice and plague are all issues that are not going away. We Christians are commanded to love our neighbor and do justice and speak up for the powerless and disenfranchised ,Zechariah 7:9. Being obedient to Biblical commands will put the enemy on notice can turn the crowds against us. The Christian church is diverse ,and many of us are finding unity of Spirit hard to maintain through all this turmoil. Let’s recommit to following the Holy Spirit and waiting on the Lord. The work of pursuing justice and loving all ought never be abandon or halted, so endeavor with the patience of a grown child waiting on dessert. “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4. Let’s be obedient to the commands of God as we wait for His blessing and deliverance.
