Anchored by the Promise
by Kenneth Copeland
One thing all babies have in common is a lack of patience. Whatever they want, they want it now. When they get hungry in the middle of the night, they don’t just wait quietly in their cribs, confident that someone will feed them in the morning. They cry at the top of their lungs and demand immediate attention. In the natural, that’s just how babies are.
The same is true spiritually. When Christians are first born again, they too, tend to demand that things change immediately. If they pray about a negative situation in their life and it doesn’t disappear overnight, they’re likely to kick up a fuss. “I don’t know why God hasn’t fixed this situation for me yet!” they whine. “I thought He promised me I’d be BLESSED.”
There’s no condemnation in that. We all start out as spiritual babies, so we’ve all been there. We just don’t want to stay there. Because that kind of immaturity limits how much we can receive from God, we want to grow past that stage. We want to feed on the strong meat of The WORD and become, as Hebrews 6:12 says, “followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” of God.
Sadly, believers don’t always get excited about the patience part of that verse. They’re eager to develop their faith because they know faith changes things. But they think patience doesn’t. Just like the world, they think patience is just putting up with whatever unpleasantness comes along.
But that’s a misconception. Patience is faith’s power twin! It’s not just rolling over and letting the devil beat up on you. It’s spiritual endurance that enables you to triumph over him. It’s a fruit of the spirit that, even in the face of contrary circumstances, empowers you to stay in faith and keep the devil under your feet.
4 : BVOV