Tag Archives: patience

December 1, 2022 · 11:19 am

The Wilderness Experience

Dr. Bob Odom, Ph. D.

December 1, 2022

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Deuteronomy 8:2. “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.”

A wilderness can be defined as a place of the unknown. It is a place of uncertainty. The wilderness is that place where we are in transition and question what is next for us. It is the in-between place of where we have been and where we are going. It is a place where we encounter rugged, harsh places. I am not sure about you, but I would not say I like the wilderness. But the wilderness journey is a necessary one.

Why is it necessary? It is essential because it is where we understand more about ourselves. It is noteworthy that in the passage above, we see that the purpose of the wilderness is to understand what is in our hearts. In the wilderness, we learn that we are impatient. It is hard to wait for the unfolding of God’s will. We learn how much we try to accomplish things independently in the wilderness. Conversely, we learn how much our faith in God is needed in the wilderness.

In the wilderness, we can sometimes feel we have lost everything. There have been times when I have been obedient to respond to God’s calling and enter a time of transition. I have begun to wonder if I have genuinely heard God’s voice in this transition. I have been made aware that not much is happening at the moment. The doors are not opening. Promises have not been kept. Things can seem lost.

But, in the wilderness, we can miss what God is doing because we look into the future rather than living in the moment. In the wilderness, we can miss the provision of God. Or better yet, we can complain about His provision because we want something different. Living in the wilderness, we can become discontented with the daily provisions of God like the children of Israel. We can become bored with what God has given us.

I do not like the wilderness for several reasons! I want action. I want to move forward! I want to know where I am headed and what the future holds. I do not like the unknown. I like order, and the wilderness creates dissonance where the truth and reality I live in are tested. The wilderness comes along and turns my world upside down.

But, I have learned that the wilderness is not a bad thing. I understand my heart better in the wilderness—emotional issues surface. Our emotions are most often symptomatic of spiritual matters. I realize that my impatience is an effect of my lack of faith. It is also a sign of my desire to accomplish more than God’s will.

In the wilderness, I struggle to trust that God is hearing me or working for me! I know He is, but it is hard to understand He is! I learn patience as I do not know how long the journey will last! I have been here before, and each time in God’s timing, He has led me to the promised land, or at least my promised land! Sometimes it is an hour, a day, a week, or even a year.

But like the Children of Israel, I can easily forget what God has done. I can forget that He provided food. He kept my clothes from wearing out. He has given me food to eat. He has protected me from the enemies around me. He has given me leadership and people around me who love me and care for me. In the wilderness, He has drawn me into deeper worship.

In the wilderness, I learn to submit my will to His! We have been taught this, but it is easier said than done in the wilderness. I want to help get answers in the wilderness, so I am tempted to help God out. I am tempted to open doors God never intended to open. I am tempted to manipulate God’s purposes.

So, if you are in the wilderness, be patient. Enjoy the moment. Live in the present and look at the beauty of God all around you. You might be surprised by what you see. Several years ago, my car broke down, and I had to walk home. In the slowness of that journey, I saw things that had only been a blur when driving in the car. I saw the beauty around me that I never saw before. So, in the wilderness, look for the beauty of God and experience His grace and mercy to the fullest.

Questions for you:

  1. Are you in the wilderness now? If so, what is God teaching you about yourself?
  2. In the wilderness, can you see the beauty around you?
  3. What emotions are being revealed that need to be dealt with?
  4. How is your ability to be patient in the wilderness working out for you?

Copyright © Robert W. Odom, 2022

The Wilderness Experience

Dr. Bob Odom, Ph. D.

December 1, 2022

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Deuteronomy 8:2. “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.”

A wilderness can be defined as a place of the unknown. It is a place of uncertainty. The wilderness is that place where we are in transition and question what is next for us. It is the in-between place of where we have been and where we are going. It is a place where we encounter rugged, harsh places. I am not sure about you, but I would not say I like the wilderness. But the wilderness journey is a necessary one.

Why is it necessary? It is essential because it is where we understand more about ourselves. It is noteworthy that in the passage above, we see that the purpose of the wilderness is to understand what is in our hearts. In the wilderness, we learn that we are impatient. It is hard to wait for the unfolding of God’s will. We learn how much we try to accomplish things independently in the wilderness. Conversely, we learn how much our faith in God is needed in the wilderness.

In the wilderness, we can sometimes feel we have lost everything. There have been times when I have been obedient to respond to God’s calling and enter a time of transition. I have begun to wonder if I have genuinely heard God’s voice in this transition. I have been made aware that not much is happening at the moment. The doors are not opening. Promises have not been kept. Things can seem lost.

But, in the wilderness, we can miss what God is doing because we look into the future rather than living in the moment. In the wilderness, we can miss the provision of God. Or better yet, we can complain about His provision because we want something different. Living in the wilderness, we can become discontented with the daily provisions of God like the children of Israel. We can become bored with what God has given us.

I do not like the wilderness for several reasons! I want action. I want to move forward! I want to know where I am headed and what the future holds. I do not like the unknown. I like order, and the wilderness creates dissonance where the truth and reality I live in are tested. The wilderness comes along and turns my world upside down.

But, I have learned that the wilderness is not a bad thing. I understand my heart better in the wilderness—emotional issues surface. Our emotions are most often symptomatic of spiritual matters. I realize that my impatience is an effect of my lack of faith. It is also a sign of my desire to accomplish more than God’s will.

In the wilderness, I struggle to trust that God is hearing me or working for me! I know He is, but it is hard to understand He is! I learn patience as I do not know how long the journey will last! I have been here before, and each time in God’s timing, He has led me to the promised land, or at least my promised land! Sometimes it is an hour, a day, a week, or even a year.

But like the Children of Israel, I can easily forget what God has done. I can forget that He provided food. He kept my clothes from wearing out. He has given me food to eat. He has protected me from the enemies around me. He has given me leadership and people around me who love me and care for me. In the wilderness, He has drawn me into deeper worship.

In the wilderness, I learn to submit my will to His! We have been taught this, but it is easier said than done in the wilderness. I want to help get answers in the wilderness, so I am tempted to help God out. I am tempted to open doors God never intended to open. I am tempted to manipulate God’s purposes.

So, if you are in the wilderness, be patient. Enjoy the moment. Live in the present and look at the beauty of God all around you. You might be surprised by what you see. Several years ago, my car broke down, and I had to walk home. In the slowness of that journey, I saw things that had only been a blur when driving in the car. I saw the beauty around me that I never saw before. So, in the wilderness, look for the beauty of God and experience His grace and mercy to the fullest.

Questions for you:

  1. Are you in the wilderness now? If so, what is God teaching you about yourself?
  2. In the wilderness, can you see the beauty around you?
  3. What emotions are being revealed that need to be dealt with?
  4. How is your ability to be patient in the wilderness working out for you?

Copyright © Robert W. Odom, 2022

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 2, 2013 · 11:33 am

James – Don’t Be Restless

Peninsula Community Church

June 30, 2013

James – Don’t be Restless

James 5:7-11 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

As we look at this text today, let me ask you a question. What causes you to be anxious? What causes you to toss and turn at night? For some, what causes you to bite your nails? For others, what causes you to eat to try to calm your nerves? For still others, what causes you to drink alcohol in excess or even greater still to turn drugs to calm your emotions?

How many like to wait? I have found that I do everything fast. I eat fast. I shower and get dressed fast. I play sports fast. The problem with doing everything fast is that it does not allow much rest. I am always in high gear. The problem is that I seldom sit and rest as I am always in motion. I am learning to sit and rest.

The point is we all experience times of anxiety. It is a part of who we are. As with other emotions, we have been created with the emotion of anxiety. It is a normal reaction to stressors in our lives. If, however anxiety becomes excessive or we never move beyond looking at the problems of life then we need to look deeper into what is causing the anxiety. It is the symptom, not the problem. We must understand that anxiety is a part of our makeup. It serves the  purpose of warning us when something is not right. It is like the warning system on our car that says there is a problem.  The warning light is not the problem it only points to a problem. So it is with anxiety, it is only a mechanism that points us to a problem.

James gives us a command here. He says to “Be patient, until The Lord comes.” The word he uses here for “patient” actually can be translated “long-tempered.” The words endure and patience mean to remain under. These words speak of “endurance” through difficult times and under great stress. One commentary translated the word this way. Patience means to “stay put and stand fast when you’d feel like running away.” Some scholars believe that long suffering refers to “patience” when dealing with people, while “endurance” refers to patience when dealing with conditions or situations.

The first illustration he uses is one of the farmer. The farmer is patient about the fruit of his labors. The farmer takes the necessary steps to prepare his soil, choose the seed, plant at the right time, fertilize with the correct fertilizer and then he waits. When the farmer has done all he can do, he waits. There is nothing he can do to expedite the growth of the seed other than what he has already done. When we have done all that we know to do, we wait patiently upon The Lord. We do not know the outcome but we are patient. I do not know any farmer that plants and then stands in the field to be sure the seed grows. He has a trust in the seed, in the fertilizer and the outcome that is up to the natural processes of plant growth.

Farming in essence is an act of faith. You plant and you wait. Why does the farmer wait so long? The fruit is precious and it is of great value to the farmer. As believers, God is calling us to faithfulness. We do what we know to do and then leave the rest to God, without any measure of anxiousness. The outcome of our lives is that we mature and the fruit of the spirit is cultivated in our hearts. As with the farmer, we don’t always see results right away but below the surface things are happening. There is a germination that is taking place and then suddenly up sprouts a shoot of life. It is a testimony to the process of waiting.

It is important to note that the farmer is not idle while he is waiting for the harvest. He is preparing his equipment. He is getting the storage bins ready. The result of being anxious and restless is that we fail to do what we need to do to get ready for the harvest in our lives.

We can do all of those things and yet still have to wait.

Look at these passages with me. Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. 

Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Psalm 37:4 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 

Psalm 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. 

It is interesting to note that the opposite of patient is anxiety, fear and nervousness. God has never called us to be anxious.  

Philippians 4:5-7 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What do we do while we wait?

  1. We do what we know to do based on the knowledge that has been revealed to us in the moment.
  2. We obey God’s commands to the best of our ability.
  3. We correct the areas in our lives that need correcting.
  4. We stay in the word which is an anchor for our souls.
  5. We focus on Christ knowing that he will lead us to where we need to be.

What are anxious about today?

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , ,