“COMPLETE PATIENCE!”

2 Timothy 4:1-5                        (ESV)

“1 I charge you in the presence of GOD and of CHRIST JESUS, WHO is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS appearing and HIS Kingdom:

2 PREACH THE WORD; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with “COMPLETE PATIENCE” and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND TEACHING, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves TEACHERS TO SUIT THEIR OWN PASSIONS,

4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, ENDURE SUFFERING, do the work of an evangelist, FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY.”

After seeing a post from a so-called “minister” on a social media site recently that basically said “here is your god fix for today”, my Spirit was deeply troubled.  ALMIGHTY GOD, our CREATOR and Sustainer, has been teaching me over the past few years that HE desires us to BE STILL, to disconnect from ”this world” and commune with HIM, and these false prophets are saying anything that will sell another book for them and tickle a few ears!  GOD doesn't want to give out Spiritual servings like a Daily Recommended Allowance from the USDA, HE wants me to try and overdose on HIM!

Mankind has developed a ‘TO GO’ mentality, a give it to me quickly lifestyle, but ALMIGHTY GOD has instructed us in HIS WORD that we really need to WORSHIP HIM, and NOTHING more!  "BE STILL" (Psalms 46:10), "BE SILENT" (Exodus 14:14), and "WAIT FOR THE LORD" (Psalms 27:14) are just a few of HIS instructions, but they are so often ignored by, or NOT TRUSTED BY, HIS army!  Suppose you were in an armed conflict (a war!) and you ignored, or didn't trust, your superiors?  In the military, "willful dereliction" can bring serious repercussions. Yet in the Spiritual Warfare we are engaged in, we seem to act as though we know better than ALMIGHTY GOD and do what we think is best?  Is it any wonder that we live in a defeated state when we refuse to follow HIS leadership in our lives?  

GOD is currently working on me about improving myself every day, even if it is just a little bit. Most of us would love to get on the scales tomorrow and weigh 20 lbs less!?! But that usually won't happen without Divine Intervention!  It takes a commitment to following a discipline that is conducive to weight loss.  To exhibit  "COMPLETE PATIENCE" in our walk should mean to eat, sleep, and breathe doing what GOD is leading us to accomplish for HIM.  Displaying a casual obedience to a HOLY GOD is in effect showing that HE doesn't carry much significance in our decisions.  Showing "COMPLETE PATIENCE" with whatever GOD is wanting to accomplish in our lives should be our goal.  

When I get to moving so quickly in “this world” that I am unable to SEE things happening from a Spiritual standpoint, I am moving faster than HE designed me to go!  I don’t need GOD to quicken HIS pace so I can fit HIM into my schedule.  I need my schedule to find the speed GOD is moving and adjust to HIS timeframe, displaying “COMPLETE PATIENCE” as HE directs my path!!!