You Got Dis; Patience

I used to think that I had no patience because I felt so anxious while waiting for the conclusion of a matter. From prayers, to dinner, patience doesn't mean you feel good while you wait. It means you wait even though you really do not feel good.

The King James Version word for, "patience," is, "longsuffering." It's a more apt description of the process. 

Because we see people that we admire enduring difficult things with poise, we think that since we don't feel how that person looks that we don't have patience. But patience isn't indicated by how a person feels. Patience is simply put, not giving up.

When a person runs a marathon, it's possible that they need to walk a bit during that 26 mile run. They may limp a bit. They may crawl a bit. And for the rest of their life they can legitimately say that they "ran" that marathon. Why is that accepted in the running community when they literally did not run the full measure? Because they didn't quit! In the same way, you are exhibiting patience IF YOU DONT QUIT! 

Whatever you're enduring, whatever is causing you pain and suffering for a long time (ahem, "longsuffering") that suffering is not an indication that you "don't have patience." The pain means you're STILL IN THE RACE! 

STOP saying, "I have NO patience." Words are creation. In reality you simply are anxious, not impatient.

We can learn the discipline of biting our tongue in our anxiousness. Similar to ancient days, before anesthesia, they might give a hurting soldier a piece of leather and tell them to, "bite down on it," as the medical staff inflicted a needed pain to give the soldier an extension of life. When we feel that anxiousness and desperation we need to also, bite down on it; our tongue, that is. 

Scripture gives us instructions to help keep us in the race, enduring to the end.

Cast down imaginations.

Truly, this is our worst enemy. Satan doesn't need to do hardly any tempting because we conjur ourselves into failure. Our imaginations so rarely create hopeful scenarios. Our imaginations quickly leave us in a heap of failure. And crazily enough, these mythological ideas release real chemicals in our brains which continue into real depressive states! 

STOP IT! 

Bring (Force) every thought into the obedience of Christ. 

Christ is our way maker. God is the miracle worker who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask, or THINK. (Think: imagination.) He's NOT however, a genie. He's a Father who sees how the present difficulty is teaching us how to handle yet another situation later, which will require more strength than the current trial. Today's trial is merely building your stamina to handle the future's success.

Cast your care on Him.

Another word for, "care" is, "anxiety." We must find places to pray. We must duck into rooms to release the pent up anxiety. We must allow tears to come while at His feet. We must allow ourselves to moan in prayer. The scripture says that when we do this the spirit is asking God for what our soul needs, because our brain doesn't realize what we need. Praying in the Spirit does WONDERS for every aspect of our trials. 

Keep your eyes on the prize.

Christ was patient on the cross because he had his eye on the prize. He endured the cross. He despised the pain. But he was able to reach his success because he had a prize in mind. The relief and release is going to be a wonderful experience! Jesus has reward for his children who are longsuffering.

Do It Anyway

I spoke with a young lady a few months ago about her talents she would, or would not use, based on how she felt. She was dealing with some new health issues and she tearfully told me that she would engage her talents again when she felt better, when she felt like her old self. I asked her, "What if you never feel 'normal' again? What if this is the new you that you have to learn to function with?"

These were hard questions to ask, but necessary. Because I wasn't merely asking her, I was equally asking ME. I used to not know what anger felt like, I didn't know what bitterness was like, I didn't know what depression and loneliness felt like. I didn't know what hopelessness was. When I hit a spot in life where all of these stressors, and more, were a daily experience, I SHUT DOWN. I came home from work and went to bed. I woke up to eat, and went back to bed. I sat at my desk at work and stared into nothingness. And I told myself every day, "It'll be so good to feel like working again." 

Weeks turned into months, and the months became years. I kept waiting on the old me to come back and energize me. After three years, I finally realized I had to pursue my goals and dreams despite not feeling able or equipped. It's now been six years and I've realized the old me couldn't come back to help me because she was DEAD. In my acceptance of this, I buried her, mourned her, and moved on to rise and walk in newness of life. 

The New Normal is not easy to accept. Especially when we liked the OLD normal. But when we begin to familiarize ourselves with this new person, we are able to LIVE AGAIN. 

Striving in a state of physical or mental pain to be and do better, to once again chase dreams and make goals, doesn't mean you can't ALSO seek to better the conditions of your body and mind. In fact, doctor visits, meetings with nutritionists, education and counsel should be a part of your new normal. But WAITING on these fixes is the trap you must avoid.

In my personal journey of putting my talents and callings back to work, I was inspired by people I'd known through my life, who could have been excused for nothingness, but instead figured out a way to engage with their talent and calling.

A blind man, named Jonothan Lollar, who would smile and joke, play music and sing. No one would have blamed him for slouching at home in bitterness over not being able to function as other young men his age. But he engaged in his talent and calling in spite of his body. 

A woman named, Lena Jones, had many bodily ailments and couldn't leave her house. She sat in her recliner and called people daily to pray for them over the phone. She engaged her talent and calling in spite of her body.

A woman whose name I never learned, but when I visited her church I was told that half of her face was paralyzed from a stroke. She had developed and led the best Vacation Bible School curriculum I've ever seen, in spite of her vanity being wounded. 

I know a woman who felt too intimidated to speak English after coming to the United States. But rather than seclude herself in loneliness, she immersed herself in the Prayer Room. Her intercession has no doubt saved thousands of people of ALL languages.

These are but a few people I personally know who demonstrated to me that if we will, we can contribute to goodness instead of drowning in nothingness. This list does not include the names of people like Mother Teresa, or Ghandi, or Helen Keller, or the many others who figured out a way to engage in spite of prison, or poverty, or physical handicaps. 

I hope your pain and affliction is not something you have to deal with for the rest of your life. I believe we should seek relief from those who've found fixes and cures. But we cannot allow our gifts and talents to be dormant because of our weaknesses. We must be diligent and FIND A WAY to use our talent because God gave it to us for use! 

God has assured us over and over that He doesn't call perfect people; not perfect morally, physically, or mentally. God is highly exalted when in spite of our infirmities we put forth efforts to use the talent He's placed within us. There is a three-fold cord we must strap to ourselves to ensure that in our sometimes blind push forward we are safe, and the people around us remain safe; Church, unity, & grit.

From experience I know that clawing one's way out of a fog can be dangerous. It's possible to cause inadvertent harm. Like Rahab hung a scarlet cord out of her window for the protection of all, keep this three-fold cord a priority and you and yours will be safe when the dust settles. 

1. The Accountability of Church.

This is not a blog about man-authority God recognizes. I'll simply say that you must be in unity with your pastor and congregation. You can't be deceitful in lifestyle behind closed doors concerning what the pastor has asked of the congregation. God's given him an unnatural authority, not of this world. It's likely even your pastor doesn't fully understand the importance of his authority. But trust me when I tell you that God isn't a God of Power-trips. He's a God of love and fatherhood. He sees how to protect his children, and when he gave the church a system of guidance through the authority of a pastor, it was to protect you. Be accountable to the guidelines of your church. It will protect you as you figure out how to use your talents as the New You.

2. The Checks and Balances of Godly Social Circles. 

We sometimes withdraw from friends in times of distress. Because people are busy, our infirmity means we can't be as busy as they are, and we sometimes get left out. That can feel like painful rejection. First of all, it's not rejection. It's simply the new you not able to be like the old you they're used to. NOBODY knows how to do this soul-mate-BFF thing with the New You. Not even you. Don't let the frustration cause you to utterly isolate yourself, or to not regard godly counsel. In this new season, you'll learn new friendship methods, and you'll learn to become an intimate friend of yourself. Allow a new person to contribute to you. Allow old friends to contribute in ways THEY are comfortable. Checks and balances are uncomfortable, but necessary. Take all of their counsels to heart, with a grain of salt.

3. Your Own Grit.

It will feel like death to do the simplest of tasks, but do the task anyway. 

You will cry WHILE doing the task, do it anyway.

You will feel like a loser after accomplishing a hard thing, do it anyway. 

You will feel lonely, rejected, and your baby-steps will seem insignificant to you, do it anyway.

In our weaknesses HE is shown to be strong. From our mental illnesses, to our physical ones, we can still yet be used of God within the protection of church leadership, godly social circles, and our own GRIT.

DO IT ANYWAY.