Elizabeth Taylor once said, “It is strange . . . that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.”
I love the smell of bread warm from the oven, but it’s easy to feel impatient waiting to taste it. Just after Easter, my wife, Candace, baked several loaves of Portuguese sweet bread. It’s a family thing. She experimented with several recipes, loaf shapes and cooking times over a three-week period. This was a happy time for me, as I serve as her taste tester. Happy to help out, dear!
Yeast bread requires diligence, and in my humble opinion, qualifies as an art form. Candy’s dough needed to rise twice, once for two hours, punched down, raised for another hour, and baked for a half hour. When one considers the assembling of ingredients and bakeware, and preparation of the mixture, and cleanup, it’s an all-day effort. If the bread doesn’t turn out, it’s a day lost. Except, one learns lessons for the next batch. Each time the bread came out of the oven, I thought of a scripture:
“Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times” (Romans 12:12, GNT.)
Considering the vast amount of heartache everywhere over the past year of the pandemic, I suppose it’s trivial to view waiting for warm bread as “trouble.” Still, to focus on warm bread feels like a return to some normalcy. Not a bad thing.
I’m referring to patience, one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, which the Lord uses to mold every Christian into the likeness of Christ.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23, NASB.)
Recently, I decided to paint our master bathroom. We managed to navigate the choice of colors for the walls, trim and cabinets, a major feat in itself. I have plenty of chores to do around the house, but I longed for something creative, and a professional painter’s estimate inspired me to conclude, with a little effort and the price of paint, I could save a lot of money.
Then the corner tub happened: how to paint a corner ceiling over a slippery, slanted, triangular bathtub. I got the job done, but not before I pulled off a balancing act, especially cutting in the edges.
I think the first four letters of the word paint spell “pain” for a reason. The root of the word paint comes from Latin, peig, or peik, Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to cut, mark by incision,” hence, “embroider, paint” (from etymonline.com.)
Trying to save time, I carelessly spilled paint on the tile floor as my wife, Candace, entered. She spotted the mess and asked, “What did you do?” I replied, dejectedly, “Does it matter?” Candace helped me to clean up my mess, and she didn’t offer any further complaint. Now that’s a good example of forgiving a mistake!
James wrote, “My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4, GNT.)
All my life I’ve heard people in church remark that one should never ask for patience, because God will send you tribulation. Yet, Jesus affirmed we would have trouble in this life; it’s inescapable.
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding]” (John 16:33, AMP.)
If one substitutes the word “mature” for “perfect” in this scripture translation, I believe it demonstrates a clearer idea of this peace. The indwelling Holy Spirit works to mold us into a closer likeness of Christ.
I think about brothers and sisters who encounter real pain and trouble. How do I help them? I remember when I ran into some hard times, I didn’t endure the trouble with an assured smile on my face, not the first time, nor the second, or the third. Eventually, I learned to trust God more, and that’s something God wants us to learn through our troubles.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NKJV.)
Just because someone is capable of exercising patience doesn’t guarantee he or she will do it. As Christians, why should we bother with patience? Consider what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4, NLT.)
God is merciful, kind, longsuffering and forgiving with us. When Jesus stood before Pilate, and the leading priests accused him, Jesus said nothing.
When I encounter trouble, I want to trust God. When I encounter difficult people, or when I’m the difficult one, I want to trust God. When waiting for His answer, I want to trust God. I place my hope in him. And perhaps, I’ll grow in patience. I praise and thank Him for His patience with me.
So, whether waiting for warm bread in the oven, or for an answer to prayer for a sick friend; whether enduring a painting project or rehab after a surgery; or perhaps, when my wife helps me clean up a paint spill, or I’m censured for my faith in Christ, I hope to glorify Christ with my patience.
“Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8, NIV.)
Selah