Patience: Stop Feeding Your Flesh
We all know the old adage that patience is a virtue. But when we look around in our world, and even our own lives, patience is a virtue many lack.
One of the most socially relevant examples of impatience is social media. The human attention span is ever decreasing because we are used to getting information and entertainment in seconds. We don’t want anything to take too long. If you’re honest with yourself, how many times have you scrolled away from something because in your opinion, it “took too long to get to the point”?
I was listening to a Christian/theological podcast the other day that explained how developers and engineers are partnering with psychologists to make social media and electronics addicting by tracking human patterns. The guest on the show explained that as Christians we should try to divest from being addicted to our devices and furthermore, stop feeding into people’s addiction by trying to minister on platforms that encourage short attention spans.
That last thing stuck out to me: we minister on platforms that encourage short attention spans. What did he mean by that? And furthermore, what could it mean for the Christian in their walk? It means several things and has several implications:
Some Christians choose not to minister in-depth because it takes too long. Meaning, we will teach the most basic sermon, or the most likeable and instagrammable thing because it’s the easiest for the listener to digest, receive, (and here’s the kicker), share!
If number 1 is true, that also means that on the other side of that, some Christians don’t want to receive the Word of God or the teaching of God if it takes too long, is not surface level, or likeable.
And of course, this is problematic for us as Believers and Saints. The Bible encourages us to always continue seeking out the Lord and His Word. There are several scriptures but let’s look at a key few (underline emphasis added):
1 Chronicles 22:19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.
Acts 17:26-27 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
Psalm 14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
In these passages, we see that seeking is a task that is not quick. There is never a point in one’s walk with Christ where they should stop seeking. Furthermore, we see it’s a task the Lord hopes we do on our own volition. He will not force us to seek Him.
But what does the word SEEK mean when used in the Bible? (Note: If you study Biblical words, which is also not a short task, you know that the Hebrew and Greek languages are much more expansive than the English language. So when we see the same word in our Bible, in Hebrew or Greek it could have several nuanced translations). The following are from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance:
In the 1 Chronicles scripture and Psalm 14:3, the word seek is the Hebrew word darash which means “properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship”.
In the verse in Acts 17, and Matthew 6, seek is the Greek word zéteó. Zéteó means “desire, endeavour, seek after” and can be literal or figurative
In Hebrews 11:6, seek is the Greek word ekzeteo. It means “enquire, seek after diligently, to search out, i.e. (figuratively)investigate, crave, demand, (by Hebraism) worship”
In Jeremiah 29:13, the word seek is the Hebrew word baqash. It means “to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive after -- ask, beg, beseech, desire, enquire, get, make inquisition, procure, (make) request, require, seek (for)”
In Proverbs 8, the Hebrew word is shachar. Shachar means “do something betimes, enquire early, seek betimes, seek diligently early, in the morning,task (with the implication of earnestness); by extension, to search for (with painstaking)”
Just from these scriptures and translations of the word seek, we can gather a few things. The first being, God reveals Himself and honors those who seek Him! Seeking God is not a seven second task. Secondly, Seeking God is not something you do quickly nor is it something that will always make you feel good or entertained. Thirdly, seeking requires discipline and patience! We saw in some translations that seeking is painful, it is worship, it requires you to do so early in the morning, and it can even require constant prayer and petition. However, it is ALWAYS worth it.
If our world continues on this path of wanting things fast, easy, and without having to wait, it is a guarantee that we will DEFINITELY miss God: His timing, His blessings, His awesome power and being. In our impatience and wanting instant gratification, not only do we cheat ourselves, but we also cheat others.
Going back to the social media example, how many people will never know the full gospel because they never went beyond TikTok to find Him? Or how many people will be shocked by the whole gospel because it goes beyond the cute and convictionless caption they read on a post? Or even more, how many are too lazy to crack open the Word or study out the Bible and supplemental texts and tools because it’s a long process.
I often think of our fellow Saints in the Bible when I find myself getting impatient. Noah patiently waited hundreds of years for a flood to occur; Moses spent over a month with the Lord without food and drink to receive the 10 commandments; Joseph waited years in a jail cell to be released for a crime he did not even commit; Job waited for the Lord to reply even when the answer was not what he was expecting; Hannah sought God by praying and weeping for a child; Esther had to be coerced to strategically expose Haman that would have killed all of the Jewish people in Persia, and lastly many prophets prophesied about the Messiah that they would never see! Oh how much we can glean from them in lessons of patience.
To conclude, patience is something all believers need to work on. But it is especially true because if we do not kill the flesh in that area of impatience (and ultimately in pride, selfishness, and self gratification) where we must wait, or engage in things that take time, we will ultimately miss out on God and all He has for us. I encourage you today to ask yourself if you too have been bitten by the “hurry up, right now, instantaneous” bug. If so, let’s pray this prayer in repentance:
Father God, I humbly come to you. God I ask that you would forgive me and I repent of impatience and any area in my relationship with You that has lacked because of it. Lord, I ask that you would increase my stamina for spiritual things. Help me to not grow weary in doing good and help me to not be distracted by things that would take away from my time with You. I ask that you would bind impatience, pride, ego and selfishness and replace them with patience, humility, self-control, long suffering, and selflessness. Lord, let my life and walk with you be an example to others. In Jesus’ Holy Name, I Pray.
Amen
P.S. this devotional is not saying we should not minister on social media. It is a great way to evangelize. However, we also cannot ignore that it 1) is a quick platform and 2) can’t and shouldn’t replace in-depth self-study of the Word (Bible). (See 2 Timothy 2:15)
P.P.S Selah was recently introduced to a worship song that has a lot to do with this topic of seeking God and killing the flesh even when it’s not what our flesh wants to do. Click here to listen to “Rival” by Grace Souder.