When we think of patience we often turn to the Bible and what many consider to be the ultimate ideal of patience, Job. To have the patience of Job is said to be hold the highest patience in all things. Yet when we read the book of Job we find a very interesting thing. Job was not patient at all. In fact he spends the entirety of the book being angry with the Lord and demanding immediate satisfaction. It is not until the very end of the book that Job finally sees that the Lord is right, for the Lord is right in all things. When Job repents he is rewarded.
But we can definitely say that if anyone had to endure waiting it was Job. He lost his family, his home, all of his worldly possessions. Job truly had nothing. No one can say they don't understand why Job was so angry with God through so much of the book of Job. But we also see that when Job finally gives up his anger and his impatience and gives himself over and allows himself to endure waiting, rather than fighting it, that he is rewarded with twice of what he had before.
There is a critical difference between the Job before his repentance and the Job after his repentance. Before he repented Job was angry with God. He blamed God for everything that had gone wrong with his life. Then he has an epiphany and repents. He sees that the Lord is right in what he does, and that a mere man such as Job has no right to challenge God. For God has a plan for everyone.
If we accept that the Lord is guiding us always and that we are always in his thoughts, we understand even more the importance of patience. If we do not have patience we are fighting with God. Things take time. God understands this, even if we don't. If we are to live our lives to the fullest we must learn to accept that God knows what is best for us and allow ourselves to endure waiting. It is then that we shall be truly blessed.
It can be difficult to have patience even in the best of times; it becomes all the more difficult when we are faced with direct provocation. We see provocation in the book of Job through Job's three friends who come to visit him in his misery. Rather than attempting to support him, Job's friends only further provoke him by adding further arguments that it is God who is at fault in all of this. The provocation of the friends of Job leads his anger and his impatience to new heights.
If we are to truly live as Christians, we must learn to deal with provocation as we endure waiting. Jesus is our shepherd, and he cares for us even when we are lost. But how much easier is it for God to lead us to our final destination if we just follow his guidance, rather than fighting and attempting to make our own path? Learn to endure waiting and you will find so many more blessings in your life, for this is what God intends for you.