The Power of Patience

It is not how fast we run but how well we finish that counts in a race. Therefore, the words of Solomon are important as we run the race of life.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, (Eccl. 9:11). It is not those who appear swifter and stronger that always win.

Patience is an excellent quality that will determine how well you finish.  Patience is a hallmark in the life of those trailblazers who have gone before us who patiently walked with God and achieved wonderful things. The word of God exhorts us “to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Heb. 6:12)

God has given us great and precious promises, but we have an enemy who is determined to stop us short of our promise. We also face adversity caused by unpredictable difficulties in the rough terrain of the journey. But this journey of faith has a crowd of witnesses who demonstrates that after we have suffered for a while, God will establish us in our inheritance. In Hebrews 11, People like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Esther, Stephen and many others reminds us that it is possible to run this race and get to the finishing line victorious.

Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without giving up because your faith is anchored on the unshakable cornerstone rock, Christ Jesus.

One thing I love about these great witnesses is that they were not always strong in life. Many faced great difficulties through their journey, but God never left their side He kept renewing their strength.

Many……. gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight (Heb. 11:34). In the process of their journey, God infused new strength and from weakness they were made strong. The strength to overcome was reinforced in the process of the journey.

When you are tempted to give up, remember you are a candidate of God’s strength and through patience you will be victorious too. Patience is a spiritual force that will outlast the onslaught of the devil. Do not give up because God is still authoring your story. Your past failures do not count. What matters is how you finish.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Eccl. 7:8)

Do not count yourself out. The last chapter in your story is not yet written.

Pastor Jeremiah Karanja