Patient Faith

I hold fast to the message of our January tenet, “We believe in God and are women of faith.” However, sometimes the obstacles and challenges of the day overshadow that faith. Looking back at the end of the day, or sometimes after months or years, I see that I needed patience to receive the fruits of my faith. 

Today was such a day. I received news that I have earnestly prayed for over a long period of time. I knew what I sought was good and would be a blessing to many. It would also require hearts and minds to be changed–something I had no control over. So, I focused instead on what I could control, including my faith in the advice of an admired leader: “Trust God and believe in good things to come.” He illustrated his point with a personal and poignant story of fear and frustration as a young father that seemed would never end well. However, it was just the prelude to a lifetime of blessings to come. I’m eternally grateful that what he taught about patient faith is true.   

Many times this power of patient faith is more ordinary and easy to miss. In the last few months, I determined to review my days and weeks looking for evidence that God is directing my path toward good things. When I made that my focus, it became easier to be patient and optimistic that not only would He send promptings about specific people who needed to feel His love, but also bolster my belief in good things to come. Often it was as simple as making a phone call or sending a text or email. It became apparent that these were not my own ideas when my friends mentioned that they specifically needed the contact, were having a crisis of confidence, or were struggling with a challenge of which I was not aware. One example was when I was having a bad day–forgetting my swimsuit when I went to the pool to work out and failing to bring the receipts I needed to return some items. Out of patience with myself for my lack of organization, I decided to head home. As I did so, I got a text from our son with an urgent need which I would have surely missed if the day had gone as I had planned. The urgent need was to care for a precious baby grandson which healed my heart and made me certain my ineptitude had become an answer to prayer. Even in my impatience with myself, I recognized the Lord’s patience with me in offering good things, despite my weakness and shortcomings. 

There is power in consciously looking for and recognizing these good things that come with patient faith. It’s easy to simply chalk them up to dumb luck or coincidence. Over time, I have concluded that they are simply too numerous and similar to be anything less than the sometimes achingly-long result of continued belief. As I patiently look for the Lord’s wise and loving hand in my life, I find a God whose business and pleasure is delivering good things to His children.

Over the years, I have often returned to the young father’s story cited earlier, always finding in it hope and help. I leave you with his conclusion: “Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.” Read talk here. 

Lead photo credit: Olivia Snow via Unsplash