Patience and Wisdom

I've been spending quite a bit of time the past few months in the book of Proverbs. I feel like God is pressing in to me that I need to be seeking wisdom (Proverbs is called by many the book of wisdom). I have also found myself in some situations recently, many in my own home, in which my patience has been tested in a major way.

Well, I just found a picture which does a great job of summing up these two great qualities: Patience and Wisdom. I may need to get it framed for my office...

Patience and Faith

Approximately once per month I conduct a Private Briefing for those interested in learning more about Truth At Work. This morning was one of those mornings.

My awesome bride accompanies me to these meetings to help me get setup and to greet the guests and give them name tags, etc... (Did I mention to you that she is awesome?)

Because of the snow we received over the past several days, we decided to take Connie's car because it has four wheel drive. We arrived at the location of our briefing at around 7 AM (for the 7:30 meeting) only for me to realize that the keys to the building were at home on my key chain...D'OH!

We live 15 minutes away which means we would be returning at the start of our meeting if all went well (which also means that a locked building would be all that would greet our guests if they were early). So, we rushed back home and called our oldest daughter who is 21 (and amazing) and asked her to grab my keys and start driving toward us. She did so which saved us close to 10 minutes (did I mention my daughter is amazing?).

We turned around with keys in hand and tried to hurry as best we could, yet it seemed like everyone wanted to pull out in front of us and drive extra slow this morning...Ugh! It seems each vehicle in front of us could have had a sign on it like the truck above. My patience, and my faith, were being put to the test.

All the while, I was praying and reminding myself that I can do nothing about the situation. In my head I knew that God had it figured out and that I needed to just release it to Him, yet I was trying to control the situation from where I sat. Not only did I find out that was impossible, all it did was create more unwelcome anxiety in me.

Though stressed at times, in the end, I did a fairly good job of remaining calm (nowhere near perfect, but better than I used to be!). We arrived back at our location with five minutes to spare and only two cars were waiting on us in the parking lot. We quickly got setup and started only five minutes late with 12 in attendance.

The meeting went great and two big lessons were once again learned by me:
1. Always bring your keys if you need to unlock something
2. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The Patience of Love

I was reading William Barclay's commentary on the letters to the Corinthians last night. He shared a story that really got me. It involved Abraham Lincoln:

The American Baptist Harry Emerson Fosdick points out that no one treated President Abraham Lincoln, with more contempt than did his secretary for war, Edwin Stanton. He called him a "low cunning clown", he nicknamed him "the original gorilla" and said that the traveller and explorer Paul Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when he could have found one so easily in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln said nothing. He made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job, and he treated him with every courtesy. The years wore on. The night came when the assassin's bullet murdered Lincoln in the theater. In the little room to which the President's body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on Lincoln's silent face, he said through tears: "There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen." The patience of love had conquered in the end.

Love is patient...

1 Corinthians 13:4a

Patience

I have to admit it. I lack patience at times. I am pretty good when I am behind a slow truck or I'm stuck in the slowest line in the grocery store...well most of the time. Where I really struggle is waiting on God.

I have felt lately like I have been stuck in neutral and that nothing is happening. I know in my head this is not true as much is happening...good stuff is happening. However, I have this tremendous desire to see tangible progress every day. When I don't, this frustrates me. I feel like I am not doing all I can to "move the ball down the field." As if it were all up to me!

I read something last night that really rocked my world. It was in Henry Blackaby's book Experiencing God:

How long was it from the time that He spoke to Abram (later named Abraham) that Isaac, the child of promise, was born? Twenty-five years. Why did God wait twenty-five years? Because it took God twenty-five years? Because it took God twenty-five years to make a father suitable for Isaac. God was concerned, not so much about Abram, but about a nation. The quality of the father will affect the quality of all the generations that follow. As goes the father, so goes the next several generations. God took time to build Abram into a man of character. Abram had to begin to adjust his life to God's ways immediately. He could not wait until Isaac was born and then try to become the father God wanted him to be.

God speaks when He has purpose in mind for your life. We are so oriented to quick response that we abandon the word from God before He has a chance to develop our character.

I have to say that this passage hit me square between the eyes and the timing of it was perfect for me. I hope it is for you too.

Patience

A good friend of mine, Rich called me on his way home from work the other day. He was as excited as I have ever heard him. His boss had just resigned.

This may seem like it's not a big deal...but in this case, it is a huge deal.

Several months ago Rich was sharing how awful it was to be working for this particular person. He mentioned that his situation was very similar to what I went through that led me to write Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders. The fact he needed to deal with a boss like this was awful and I could definitely relate.

I suggested he go to the board of directors to see about having him removed. He said others had suggested that as well but that didn't feel right to him. He said he was just going to bide his time and possibly look for other employment. He said this was really tough, though because he loves where he works.

Well, his patience obviously paid off. Rich followed his convictions and didn't try to take things into his own hands. He let God deal with it and he has now been blessed for it. Thanks for the great example Rich!

Waiting

Have you ever been to a restaurant by yourself and had to wait for someone to show up? I have plenty of times and it has sometimes felt awkward, especially when I failed to bring something to do. While everyone else is happily chatting and eating away, I find myself looking over the menu for the 13th time.

Does it make you feel better when your party shows up and gives you the excuse for why they were late? No, me neither.

Feeling this way has made my desire to never be late increase. I know I don’t like it when others are late so I certainly don’t want to cause someone else to feel that way. In addition, I try to not make excuses for my lateness when I am tardy, although I still find myself slipping into excuse mode from time to time.

If you are the excuse making type, you might like these actual excuses told to bosses for being late to work. But do me a favor, please don’t use them!

1. While rowing across the river to work, I got lost in the fog.
2. Someone stole all my daffodils.
3. I had to go audition for American Idol.
4. My ex-husband stole my car so I couldn't drive to work.
5. My route to work was shut down by a presidential motorcade.
6. I have transient amnesia and couldn't remember my job.
7. I was indicted for securities fraud this morning.
8. The line was too long at Starbucks.
9. I was trying to get my gun back from the police.
10. I didn't have money for gas because all of the pawnshops were closed.

Patience

On Wednesday of this week I was leading a weekly discussion on leadership at one of my consulting clients. We are going through John Maxwell's latest book, Leadership Gold.

During our study, we were asked in which of three different areas that were discussed do we need the most work. That was an easy answer for me so I said, "patience."

Little did I know that I would be tested so quickly on this.

I have been operating on an old laptop which had been showing signs of dying. I took the plunge and recently purchased a new model.

Well, yesterday was my day to load up the software and get it functional. Easier said than done.

I spent the majority of the day doing on-line chats with customer support for a couple different software programs that I could not get to work properly. I was exasperated and not worth a darn to anyone. It really took its toll on me and I am still feeling that way this morning, kind of in a funk.

That'll teach me to say I need to work on patience. I've heard Joyce Meyer say that whenever you pray for patience, you will be put in some places where you will need it. I guess that's true.

But, the computer is working! And I know that I still need lots of work!

Patience

So how is your patience?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The Art of Waiting

I am not good at waiting. I naturally want to "make things happen." This can be a strength at times and a huge weakness at other times. I know this is an area God is working on in me.

That is probably why I thought so highly of this article written by Robert Tamasy which was recently sent to me:

Observing that today’s business and professional world is fast-paced is as profound as declaring that a horse has four legs. So what else is new? But the pace of the work world, even over the past two decades, has accelerated at a rate that none of us could ever have imagined.

In the 1980s, overnight mail and facsimile machines dramatically speeded up communications. Instead of waiting days to receive important letters and contracts, we could send them to be received the next day – or even within minutes. Over the years that followed, the Internet, voice mail, electronic mail and text messaging made many uses for overnight mail and faxes obsolete. Communication became instantaneous. Why wait, we thought, when we can have what we need immediately?

These advances, in many ways, have provided great benefits. Few of us would wish to return to days when we had to exercise extreme patience anticipating the arrival of urgent documents, correspondence and other forms of communication to arrive. However, our increasingly “instant society” is rapidly depriving us of a unique life skill – the art of waiting.

Today it seems we must do everything in a hurry, even when we are not sure why. Everyone is busy, everyone is in a rush – therefore, we must do the same. But there is a certain virtue in waiting, something that we cannot achieve by attempting to compress time.

For example, fine wines are fermented over years. An exquisite meal cannot be produced in a microwave oven. Strong, stately trees do not grow overnight. A beautiful painting cannot be created within minutes with a few splashes of paint. And qualities we find in the best leaders and those we admire the most are not achieved in a matter of moments. Character – commitment to high, noble attributes and values of humankind – is forged over a lifetime. Perhaps this is why one of the world’s oldest and most enduring books, the Bible, speaks so often about the necessity – and value – of waiting. Consider just a sampling of what it says on this topic:

Waiting patiently results in the expectation of success. In the work world we are action-oriented. “Do something, even if it’s wrong!” seems our battle cry. Yet sometimes the best thing to do, particularly in times of crisis and uncertainty, is to wait, taking time to evaluate the proper course of action. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…those that hope in the Lord will inherit the land…. Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land…” (Psalm 37:7, 9, 34).

Waiting provides time for problems to become resolved satisfactorily. When things go wrong, we often seek to take matters into our own hands and attempt to fix them. Often, however, adverse situations are outside of our control. At such times it is usually wise to wait for proper resolution. “For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18).

Waiting helps us renew our energy and internal resources. Even when we feel tired, when every ounce of energy seems depleted, we often press on in the face of challenges. Sometimes taking the necessary time and recharge our internal batteries will enable us to proceed more productively and effectively. “…But those that wait on 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” (Isaiah 40:31).