Patience

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:1-2 NIV

Bill stood beside me and raised his left hand, showing me his palm. He had written in ink the word ‘patience’. He said very seriously, “I have to remind myself, every day. Every day.”

We were standing in a modern kitchen as lights were being set up outside the windows and the art department was hanging blinds and we waited for approval on which plates to set up for the dinner scene. The inexperienced location manager had just argued with Bill, the Director of Photography, that there didn’t need to be additional layout-board on the newly refinished wood floors where we were setting up the shot. Bill knew there would be more lights and flags on metal stands to come; he knew where the dolly tracks would be going down for the camera move.

There are few businesses where you work as closely and as quickly with a bunch of people as on a film shoot. Everyone is working on a deadline to get the scene set up; the clock is ticking and a lot of money is a stake if you don't make your day. It looks like chaos to a casual observer, but it is actually a beautifully synchronized dance. The lead of each department directs those who report to them, respectfully giving way to other departments or asking for priority if they find themselves needing the same space. Everyone is busy working, doing their part. It is the perfect picture of many coming together for a common purpose.

Except when someone with a year or two of experience unwisely chooses to challenge someone they shouldn’t. It is like watching the puppy being smacked down by the older dog. Those of us who know the way of the land cringe, waiting for the puppy to back down before he is pinned to the ground. Those with greater responsibility deserve greater respect. Something these young whippersnappers don’t always understand.

The green location manager has just been sent to retrieve more layout-board by the producer. The tension is quickly receding. And that is when Bill shows me his reminder to himself: patience.

It isn’t a word I think about as much as I should. Patience. How interesting to write it on the palm of your hand for your eyes alone.

And here it is again today: “I must be on the alert against the sin of impatience… I must learn that all impatience is a denial of God’s time.” It says to Him, “I do not trust Your timing; my time is better.” [W. Glyn Evans, Daily With the King]

I am certainly impatient. I often want the things and circumstances I have imagined and planned right away and I think God is just being slow in delivering. “What is going on?” I impatiently ask God – as if I have the future tied up neatly with a bow. And the next step in this lack-of-patience sin is to berate myself for not working hard enough and making things happen through my own good works.

I forget that God often acts with a knock on my door or a phone call from someone I don’t know and wasn’t expecting. God is often in the hard things and the disappointment and the unknowable. God just may have a bigger plan underway. I am constantly reminded of Joseph, favored son and dreamer, serving with humility and patience in a dark Egyptian prison while God orchestrated a coming famine. And His salvation for the world.

Patience. It is a reminder that I am not in control of the world. My world. Oh, wait a minute… perhaps it is His world. God tells us He has plans we know not. God tells us His timing is perfect. God tells us His ways are perfect.

These days I wonder why God seems so silent. These days I stamp my foot and shake my head at the chaos around me. These days I want to do something to make a difference. But just maybe… I need to hold my tongue. Maybe I need to trust God. Maybe I need to write ‘patience’ on the palm of my hand.

Question: Do you struggle to be patient in your situation? What do you do to slow yourself down? Do you trust God’s wisdom?

New Wine Hillsong Worship

I love this line: …when I trust You I don’t need to understand…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNAeBA9BZ_w

Georgia TannerOctober 17, 2020Comment