Let Patience Have Its Perfect Work
“…But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.”
When Moses was just a young man, he killed an Egyptian man who was brutally beating an Israelite man. Because of fear and embarrassment, he fled to the desert for 40 years. For 40 years Moses lived his life, just living, perhaps thinking that that was going to be his life. Boy did God have plans for him to be a great leader…
When Naomi’s husband and two sons died, she left Moab to return to her homeland- the land of Judah. She thought God had “cursed” her and that she’d live out the reminder of her days alone with no trace of a family legacy- just living, thinking that that was going to be her life. Boy did God have plans for her too, for she would be in the line of matriarchs for King David and Jesus too…
Speaking of David. Oh, King David, one of my favorite monarchs waited 20 years from anointing to appointing to become king. In that 20-year period he spent most of his life, trying to save his life from King Saul. David had such faith in God that I’m not sure if he fully lost faith in God’s promises for his life, but he did feel discouraged…. But boy did God have mighty plans for David after the passing of those 20 years…
Skipping ahead a few thousand years, fashion designer Vera Wang started out as a figure skater. She failed to make it to the Olympics, so she became an editor for Vogue Magazine. She had hoped to become the editor-in-chief but was looked over. She probably thought that that was going to be her life, being a magazine editor. But, at the age of 40 she started making wedding dresses and today, she is one of the most richest and well-known wedding dress designers of our time. God had other plans for her apart from hoping to make it to the Olympics. Her calling was to leave a mark on the fashion world.
Famed chef Julia Child struggled to find her way. She tried all sorts of things and felt discouraged. She felt like she would never discover her calling and purpose. But after living in Paris and taking up a cooking class, Julia felt she was onto something. At the age of 50 her career started to take off. She is one of the world’s most-well known chefs of our time.
U.S. 16th President Abraham Lincoln, was born into poverty, lost his mother as a child, couldn’t afford to go to school so he taught himself everything (even to become a lawyer), endured an abusive father, failed as a businessman, his fiancé died right before their wedding, had a nervous breakdown in 1836, he lost 8 elections, his son died as a child, and his wife was mentally unstable. There were times that he felt that he was just existing, not really living his calling. He also had a lot of setbacks. But boy did God have plans for his life. Though he was assassinated, he championed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments in the US Constitution, making the lives of African Americans future African Americans in the US more bearable…
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There are so many inspiring examples, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nelson Mandela, J.K Rowling, Chris Gardner- the list goes on of people all over the world who endured setbacks and had to wait patiently for years for their lives to shift!
Of these 6 examples of inspiring men and women, the point I want to make is that when God allows a door to close, and time is slowly passing where we feel like we’re existing, not living the dream that HE has birthed on the inside of us, we are mistaken. We know that THERE IS MORE, but the years are passing, and we don’t see any sign of it… As I write this, I’ve been waiting 7 years to return to London to live, and there are moments of discouragement.
But you see, in our waiting, patience is having its perfect work in us. When we wait and time is passing, God is birthing new dreams in us to get us to that that dream He is birthed on the inside of us. If he doesn’t allow a door to close (i.e. losing a job, not winning an election, losing money, losing an investment, etc)- if these things don’t happen to us, then we would stay on the path we’re on. But, by getting a curve ball, and waiting it out, new dreams and plans are being birthed, which will get us to get us to our calling (to the reason why He has put us on this earth).
Our waiting X amount of years and starting something else doesn’t catch God by surprise. Oh no, the waiting simply a part of His plan from- it always was. When patience has it’s perfect work in us, we shift into new seasons. God is always moving, He has said: “Behold, I will do anew thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19, NKJV)
Since I’ve left my parents home at the age of 18 for university, I have lived in Washington, DC; to Madrid, Spain for a summer; back to Washington, DC to finish university; to London, UK; back to Washington, DC; to Berlin, Germany; to my parent’s house for a few months; to London, UK again for several months; to Milan, Italy for 1 month; and back to Washington, DC for a few months.
I can see in all this time and all these cities that God’s hand is in it all. Patience is having its perfect work in me, as God is birthing new dreams and in time I will understand my calling more and more. I don’t know if God will open the door for me to return to London full time, but if I would have been able to stay in London 7 years ago, Berlin, Milan and DC now would never have happened and transforming things have happened to me in these cities.
So, when you look at your life and feel frustrated, remember these 6 inspiring people, who also felt at some point in their lives that everything was over, or that they were just existing, not really living. Also look at your life and remember the faithfulness of God and how He has guided your steps thus far. Acknowledge that He is guiding your steps going forward, even if it’s taking more time than you hoped for. He has a plan! Trust Him and let patience have its perfect work in you.