Lent

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 130

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities. –Psalm130:5-8

Patience is one of the cluster of characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The use of the singular or collective noun “fruit” has always been a challenge to me. The word is describing the results of the gift of the Spirit and seems to imply that they are more like a cluster of grapes than a bowl of mixed fruits. My tendency is to separate them but deep inside I think they are more like the grapes.

I oft state that patience is a virtue I lack and jokingly add that I prefer the King James Version translation that uses the words long-suffering. I finally came to realize that patience is the fuel for perseverance. While I agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson that Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, justice is never accomplished without perseverance. Enthusiasm may ebb when the challenges seem overwhelming; perseverance rekindles the fire of enthusiasm.

Waiting on the Lord is not grounded in sitting around and doing nothing to make the world a better place for all, until God finally gets God’s job done solving all our problems. Waiting on the Lord always involves being in close communion with God as we persevere in doing God’s will as a part of the Body of Christ active and engaged in the world today—not getting ahead of God and not dragging our feet behind God.

Prayer: Lord, we do indeed need Thee every hour but at this moment in this time, our need is great throughout the world. Help us feel your presence as we persevere to overcome the calamity that is upon us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.