LET Patience Have Its Perfect Work

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4 NKJV).

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Why all of this talk about patience when it comes to spirituality? Who really likes being developed in patience?

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The Amplified Bible says it this way:

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“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing” (James 1:4 AMP).

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I see it like this: Any good worth having is worth waiting for during the development process. If you pull out a plant seedling before it’s fully developed, you can’t enjoy the harvest of the crop. If the baby isn’t given time to mature in the womb, there won’t be a new life brought forth. If a deal is rushed, the terms may not be advantageous for all.

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But then these questions come to mind: Is it possible to be too patient? Realistically speaking, if you don’t harvest the baby or the crop at the right time, it may not survive. If the deal is stalled too long, it may not close. So, what’s the right balance or application of patience in our spiritual and natural lives?

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Well, we do know that the value of patience is great, because it is a fruit of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22.) Not only is patience a fruit of the Spirit, but it also is what undergirds our faith (including faith in God, faith in oneself and one’s abilities or purpose).

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Patience helps the force of faith to stand up under the pressure of time. Being developed in patience is intended to strengthen us inwardly, just like the reps with a barbell weight are intended to strengthen some physical aspect of the body. It makes our mind and heart strong when we are developed in patience.

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But, here’s the thing, it doesn’t always feel good to wait! In those times, we should ask for God’s peace and wisdom in the matter, and then LET or allow patience to have its perfect work.

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Many aspects of our character and motives are revealed to us in waiting seasons. Therefore, patience is also intended to develop us into the people whose character/integrity is growing and being refined/prepared so that we will be in the right spirit and able to fully manage or appreciate the new good when it arrives.

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“A gift opens doors; it gives access to the great” (Proverbs 18:16 NRSV).

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Your gifting may give you access to new rooms, but your character establishes your presence there. By God’s grace, I have entered “new rooms” or experiences throughout life, and without the trying times of developing patience (which is still very much a work in progress for me in many ways), my character, integrity or faith in God’s work in my life couldn’t be developed. In essence, we cannot grow spiritually, mentally, personally or in any way, without the opportunity for patience to be developed as well.

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Say it with me:

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“I will be all that God has made me to be. With the help of God’s Spirit, I let patience have its perfect work in me and through me today!”

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~Jason Powell

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