Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15 ESV)
We live in a world that is often mandated with busyness. There is busyness in daily lives, busyness in responsibilities to employers, friends and various obligations. Technology can be a benefit to help manage some of the demands of the day. However with the advancement of technology, the world is growing all the more close. This is both good and bad. It is good in the sense that we are given the opportunity to connect with family and friends more readily. In addition, technology allows us to accomplish things far quicker. What would have taken weeks or days to accomplish years ago, can now often be accomplished within moments. The speed at which we can communicate has increased dramatically with the plethora of devices, apps, and tech to expedite communications. Well, maybe communication is too strong a word to be used in this context. Possibly a more accurate way to describe communication through technology is that it has increased our capacity to send and receive messages. The increased capacity to send and receive messages elevates within us pressure to respond. Though seemingly insignificant those not yet responded to messages on our various devices can increase the sense of busyness in that we can feel as if there is always one more thing to accomplish. We are artificially pressured to stay connected.
The downside of advanced technology and the closeness of our world is also detrimental in that it exacerbates our expectations. We want answers, solutions and work to be accomplished with the utmost expediency if not immediately. We get frustrated if we need to wait for an answer. Thus we invent ways to get us the answer we desire faster and according to our demand, and the feeling of constant busyness increases. We have placed artificial and self-imposed deadlines that reinforce the feeling of constant busyness. With this elevated feeling of busyness, it becomes more difficult to allow our minds to be quiet. The closeness and the demands of our modern world often fills our minds with self-imposed deadlines, pressure and persistent noise.
Yet as close as technology seems to draw us in its capacity to connect, we are increasingly drifting farther apart. The ease of communication or again should I say sending and receiving messages has allowed for the human to slip toward an existence that is becoming far too isolated. With the alacrity of sending and receiving messages and the demand for responses, we are growing all the more impatient and distant. Impatient with slow answers. Impatient when we need to wait. Impatient with others and even impatient with ourselves. As we become more and more impatient, we also become more agitated and anxious. No doubt the increased busyness that seems to be an inescapable part of life is being used by the enemy to cause us to suffer with increased impatience and anxiety. The enemy strives to breed discontent in the human. In our discontent, we are enticed to harbor anger and resentment because we have grown far too impatient to wait upon the Lord trusting in His leading. We are becoming far too impatient to abide with Him and to abide with one another.
It is for this reason that we must pay all the more attention to the Word of our Lord and to our faith. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in the verses we have been working through, we must be willing to be patient. It is patience that our world desperately lacks. And it is patience that we must willingly choose to put on. We must be patient. We must actively recognize how easily the feeling of busyness can overwhelm us causing us to become frustrated with others, situations and the self. In our frustration we can easily fall into the trap of reacting which typically causes things to grow far more difficult. Patience is an attribute given by God that is essential for us to put on seeking His help in walking it out. As the Lord is gracious and patient with us. We must seek His council to equip us with patience as well. It is in our willingness to wait upon the Lord that we will be equipped with strength to endure.[1]
Too often we demand of others much more than we even demand of ourselves. Then when the other does not meet the exaggerated expectation we have placed on them due to our lack of patience, we lash out in frustration. The lashing out can bring chaos and brokenness within our relationships. This again is exactly what the enemy desires to afflict upon us. he wants us to suffer brokenness. he wants us to wallow in the anxiety and the fatigue of busyness. he wants our minds to be so full of the noise of the day that we choose not to listen for the leading of our Messiah. he wants to exhaust us mentally so that we give up the abiding in Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, we are all works in progress. Not one of us is perfect, but to the glory of God He is patient with us.[2] He sees our struggles, hurts, disappointments and fear. He does not condemn, rather He equips and builds us up. We all must be willing to wait on the Lord. Willing to allow Him time to work and willing to allow ourselves time to receive what the Lord has done. We must be willing to be patient with one another, stiving to walk together in the bond of Jesus. He has drawn us together to be a testimony of His Salvation. Let us not then disgrace His mercy because of our impatience. Pray to the Lord to help us bear with one another in love.[3] Lastly, we must be patient with ourselves. We must cling to the hem of His garment as He works to help us to see the person that we have always been. A precious child of our Eternal King! In Jesus we are saved. In faith He helps us to know who we truly are.
It is for this reason that the Lord gives us the reminder of putting on patience. Lacking patience causes us to react to the stresses of this life rather than respond to them with confidence in our Lord. When we allow ourselves to react rather than respond, we often cause further calamity. Therefore be patient. Humbly follow your Messiah. We must choose to be patient as the Lord works to bring all of us to where He wants us to be. To God be the glory!
[1] Psalm 37
[2] 2 Peter 3:9
[3] Ephesians 4:2
Corby Shuey 