Isaiah 7:12-14
But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test”. Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
INSIGHT
-Patience in Hebrew is written as qawah which means to wait or qul which means to hope for, or expect. Many references have been sighted in the Bible, for instance; Ps 37:7 which tells us to wait patiently on the Lord, Ecc 7:8 the end of a matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride, Rom 15:5 God of patience gives us endurance for one another, Gal 5:22 patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit etc.
-When Ahaz king of Judah matched to war against Jerusalem, they could not overpower it and they were shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind. God sent prophet Isaiah to him and told him to ask for a sign from the Lord but he was firm in faith and could not put the Lord to test. The promise of the Messiah was then made as a sign to the people, that the house of David in God’s promise made to him of the perpetuity of his kingdom. Through these scriptures we see that patience is classified into two; patience with men and patience with God. King Ahaz received the prophecy with patience having faith in God that Immanuel would be born and remain with us. God fulfilled His promise many years later and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory (Jn 1:14) that we may believe in Him and have life everlasting.
PRAYER
Thank You Lord our Father for Your mercy and kindness upon our lives. Thank you for enabling us to see this beautiful day in good health. It is not by our power nor by might but by Your Spirit Lord. Have mercy Jesus on all those who are sick and those who have lost their loved ones that Your grant them perfect peace. Grant us Father our hearts desires and help us to always follow Your divine will. Remember all expectant women, those who are waiting patiently on You for children and all those have new born babies, that Your may bless them and hear their prayers. Grant us patience with men and with You Holy Spirit that we may hold fast our faith in You and diligently serve You. Settle our hearts Jesus that we may never put You to test but faithfully wait on You in all things. Amen
1 Timothy 6:10-12
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
INSIGHT
-Not money but the love of money is the root of all evil. Though we can freely choose the root but not the fruit. The desire to get rich may sometime plunge us into ruin and destruction leading us to wonder away from the faith and pierced ourselves with many pangs. The Holy Spirit grants us patience, love, faith, gentleness, righteousness and godliness that we may be set free from greed. Many of our brother and sisters engage in money laundering and fraudulent activities, forgery, gold scams, corruption, theft of public resources, witchcraft, covetousness, murder et cetera, due to the love of money. It is our responsibility to fight the good fight of faith and bear integrity in our conduct as God has entrusted us. We realize that in the quest to gain all the wealth in the world; it is not sufficient for our existence but only the love of God can satisfy our souls. Money can buy one a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation; a passport to everywhere but heaven. Many times we have fallen short of these truths and gone astray; but God calls us to patience, repentance and conversion that His kingdom principles may be reflect through us as His ambassadors, for His love for us is everlasting.
PRAYER
Lord You have good plans for our lives; plans to prosper us and not to harm us; plans to give us hope and a future, we believe in You. Only You Jesus know our thoughts and our hearts desires; deliver us from greed and the love of money, we humbly implore You. Holy Spirit grant us the fruit of love, patience, gentleness, godliness, faith that we may only rest secure in You. Forgive us all our sins Lord, sins of our forefathers, family members, friends, leaders, nation and shower us with Your precious blood. Grant us our heart desires, success in our businesses and projects, new jobs and promotion in our work places, excellence in our studies, healing from any form of disease, direction in our relationships and marriages, family success, guidance in our national affairs, proper leadership in our churches, breakthrough in all life situations and propel us to higher levels of grace according to Your purpose. Thank Jesus You for what You have already done, what You are doing, and what You are going to do in our lives. Thank You loving us with an everlasting love Jesus, we praise You and exult Your holy name. Amen
James 1:2-6
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
INSIGHT
-It is part of Christian life to endure trials which builds up our faith. Like Job who was tested severely through loss of all his children and possessions, but remained firm in faith and God blessed him immensely. Each one of us faces temptations uniquely which ultimately makes us realize that we need the grace of God every time and cannot succeed without God. Patience is a result of faith which is established through trials. It is also a key principle which is equated to works of faith. Without faith we cannot please God and when we ask we are called to have full confidence in God so that we may receive our requests. Like Abraham the father of faith, when God made a promise to him, He swore by Himself since there was no one greater saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised (Heb 6:12-15). We are therefore called to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised, for God is faithful and His promises are true and right.
PRAYER
O heavenly Father, we thank You for Your everlasting love and mercy upon us. We humbly ask You Jesus to deliver us from all evil and lead us not into temptations. Increase our faith Holy Spirit and help us to be patient in You despite the trials that we face. We pray that you may help us to wait on You in our prayers, petitions and supplications for all Your promises are yes and amen. Fill us with the gift of wisdom Holy Spirit we humbly ask You and shower us with Your eternal grace. Strengthen our hearts everyday Lord through faith that we may keep pushing on even when the going gets tough. In You only Lord can we find safety, purpose, direction, life and satisfaction, engulf us always with Your love. Amen
Romans 15:5-6
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
INSIGHT
-God in His nature bears patience and comfort, and grants us His gift of salvation. Christ Who is the Word dwells deeply in our hearts and grants us these virtues producing hope for a better future; in Him; through Him and by Him. Through His grace, we are like minded in His image and likeness and are called to love and edify one another. On the same wavelength we are reminded to give thanks to God in all things which is a form of praise and worship; and is pleasing to Him. Christ calls us to remain united with both the weak and the strong, in communion and mutual love, without despising, condemning or judging others; as He Himself received us with mercy and love, to be members of His body; the church and joint heirs with Him of His eternal felicity; to the glory of God our Father.
PRAYER
Blessed are You Jesus Who is seated at the right hand of the Father, we praise You and glorify Your holy name. You are the King of kings, Lord of hosts, our great I Am, our great High Priest and our sure Foundation, all glory and praise belongs to You. You are the God of patience and comfort, fill us with these graces dear Father. Be with our president, deputy president and all other leaders Father, that they may always seek Your wise council as they run the affairs of this nation. Be with our church leaders and all the congregants that we may always edify one another as instruments of Your love all over the world. Be with our families dear Lord that we may remain united with codes of love that can never be broken. Be with all those who are sick and suffering, and deliver us all from all afflictions merciful Father. You have called us Lord to be of one mind and to praise You with one voice, help us to always dwell in unity and love with each other for the glory of Your name. May Your peace which transcends all understanding guard our hearts and minds in You Christ Jesus; now and forever. Amen
Matthew 18:26-27
The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
INSIGHT
-Jesus told this parable to explain that we should forgive others seventy times seven times. As the servant asked the master to be patient with him, so are we when we seek Gods mercy. As the master was moved with compassion and forgave his servant, so is Christ Who looks at us mercifully and cleanses us from all our sins. It is in human nature to judge people as worse sinners than we are and others as better sinner than us, but we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and need His mercy and grace; everyday. After he was forgiven, the servant did not forgive his debtor and the master delivered him to the jailers to be tortured. Christ our Saviour calls us to forgive those who offend us so that He may forgive our trespasses too.
SUMMARY
Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, Who freely gives us according to His will. Patience develops from faith which is established through trials and tribulations. Many prophets and servants of God in the Bible experienced trials including the father of faith Abraham; and when he obeyed and believed, he received his blessings. Since we are Abraham’s seed through Christ, we are called to believe so that we may receive our promise through faith. God is patient and kind, and grants us hope through His gift of salvation. Through His patience and sacrifice, Jesus died and resurrected, so that we may receive redemption from all sins, freedom from slavery and condemnation leading to death, and partake of eternal life with Him forever and ever. Christ reminds us to be patient with one another through love, sacrifice, forgiveness and edification through good works as He has taught us and continues to demonstrate to us; daily.
PRAYER
Lord You are our Salvation and only hope, we need You at every moment of our lives. We are insufficient without You Jesus, fill our hearts with Your patience and comfort. Give us repentant hearts Lord and help us to forgive those who offend us. For the many times we have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, forgive us merciful Father. Cleanse us with Your precious blood and make us as white as snow dear Jesus. Journey with us every day and deliver us from the snares of the wicked one. Guide us in our work, businesses, studies, churches, spirituality, families, friendships, interactions, projects, economic growth and strengthen us according to Your grace. We seek Your face in divine opportunities that You have promised us and thank You for the double doors that You continue to open for us. We thank You and bless Your holy name Lord. Amen