The Hardest Virtue

Patience is a virtue.

Ever heard that? I have. And I hate it.

Mostly because I struggle with it. I was praying about patience in my life this morning and started thinking about this simple statement. Patience is a virtue. We all know what patience is. It is the capacity, habit, or act of being patient. But what about virtue. How are they so tied together. Virtue is to conform to morality. It is something that is moral and beneficial. So how are they the same thing? I know this is simple, but if it is something I struggle with I am sure some of you do to.

Patience isn't just something we need to have in regards to what we "want". I want a new guitar, or a new car, or hardwood floors....we all have "things" that we want. And many times we struggle with patience in waiting for them. Our society is on the brink of downfall because of it. Instead of patience we just buy the car and make payments that we can't afford. We use plastic to fulfill our wants instead of having the patience that we need. Why shouldn't we? Our leaders and government do the same. As a nation we get so impatient that we get angry when our government wont go further into debt to do something that we are impatiently waiting for.

But patience is something we need in our walk with Christ as well. There are things that we want, places we want to go, and gifts of God that we seek that all require patience.

Romans 8:24-25 "For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

You see, patience isn't just in waiting for things, it is for your entire walk with Christ. It is a complete package. We want to run before we walk in ministry sometimes. We want to do things that are incredible. And God wants you to do those things too. But it is in His timing, not yours. So many times we get frustrated and walk away from dreams and hope for our future just moments before it was SUPPOSED to happen. Jesus talked about the parable of the sower. Think of yourself as a seed that God planted. If He harvested you too early, then you would only be good to feed the cattle. There is a plan in place for your life, and while it is hard to wait for it to happen....always remember, it is happening. And right now while you feel like you are blowing in the wind, God is actually preparing you and strengthening you.

I wanted to travel and speak for years before I ended up getting the chance. I remember having a conversation with my dad about quitting and going on the road as an evangelist. He told me to relax. Let God make it happen. 4 years later I was on the road. Looking back now, if I had tried it my way, I would have fallen flat. I wasn't ready. I thought I was. But without that wait, I would have never started riding a bicycle. I would have never began Bike For The Light. I'd have never had the platform I had to speak to tens of thousands about changing the world. I wasn't better 4 years later. God better in me.

Trust me, I understand. Sometimes it is hard to wait for an hour for something....let alone 4 years, but think about this for just a moment. Nearly every problem our society faces is born out of impatience.

Bankruptcy. Foreclosure. Divorce. Addiction. Murder. Stealing. Depression. Obesity.

They all have their root in impatience. As I struggle with this virtue today, I like to remember this simple quote. It helps me calm down and understand that God has a plan....and I am the reason He has that plan, so I just need to walk in it or risk screwing it up myself.

“Timing is so important! If you are going to be successful in dance, you must be able to respond to rhythm and timing. It’s the same in the Spirit. People who don’t understand God’s timing can become spiritually spastic, trying to make the right things happen at the wrong time. They don’t get His rhythm – and everyone can tell they are out of step. They birth things prematurely, threatening the very lives of their God-given dreams.” - T. D. Jakes

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Deformity & All

November 8th, 1970. A date that many of you weren't alive in. The rest of you probably don't remember it. It wasn't a special date. For most people. Unless you are named Tom Dempsey.

Born in 1947, Tom had more reasons than most to give up. He was born as a normal baby except he had no fingers on his right hand and no toes on his right foot. Actually his foot is hardly more than a stump. Most of us, if born that way, would go through life as normal as possible. But would probably shy away from the lime light. Wouldn't even think of trying out for sports. Especially one that is actually named FOOTball. Seems like it would be a constant reminder of our deformity. But Tom wasn't a normal kid.

He fashioned a strange looking short, flat fronted shoe for his right foot and decided to go out for the team. And of all positions, he decided to be a kicker. I know what you are saying...."he has a hammer for a foot, of course he was a kicker!". Well before you get on that high horse, ESPN Sports Science did a study and found that he doesn't have any advantage. In fact, they found that his kicking surface was actually smaller than a normal foot, and had a much higher degree of difficulty. Tom played his guts out for years, and eventually made his way into the NFL as a kicker for the New Orleans Saints.

So back to November 8th. The Saints were a horrible team that year. Only won two games in this forgettable season. So why am I talking about it? Well on that day, the Saints were playing the Detroit Lions. And with 2 seconds left, they were down by 1 point on their own 37 yard line. Ask any coach today what you would do and they will tell you to Hail Mary. Throw it up and just pray one of your guys catches it. But, those coaches don't have Tom Dempsey. His coach decided to let this guy with half a foot go out there and try to kick a field goal. 63 yards. A full 7 yards.....21 feet longer than the record. He nailed it. With a few feet to spare, Tom Dempsey got the longest field goal in history. A record that still stands to this day. I was in the Football Hall of Fame a couple years ago, and got to see the shoe. It is awesome to imagine that little thing having the record.

So why am I telling you about Tom Dempsey? Because we all have things that we let keep us down. Keep us from living up to the potential that God gave you before you were even born. I see people that never use their talents because they are scared. People that try because something makes them think they will fail. But here is what is awesome about God. He wants you BECAUSE you have those deformities, because you have those scars. He wants to use you with all your mistakes and disabilities. That way, there is no mistaking the fact the HE did the great things and not you. Look at Gideon. He was the weakest of his tribe....and his tribe was the weakest of all the tribes.

Judges 6:14-15 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

A lot of times we look at Gideon and think he was well respected. Like people looked to him for leadership, but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, when God first called Gideon to lead the Israelites, He found Gideon hiding in a hole in the ground so the enemy wouldn't come steal his food. This guy didn't feel like he was worth anything. Then God gave him only 300 men to fight against more than 100,000 Midianites. AND THEN God only gave those 300 men torches and trumpets. No swords. No shields. No AR-15's. Torches and trumpets. But we all know what happened right? God used this guy that was full of "deformity" to change the world. And there is no questioning whether it was Gideo that won that batter or God. God wants to use your weakness to show HIS strength. 

 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Go change the world. Who cares what you think about yourself....God already knows what HE made when HE made you....and HE wants to use YOU. Deformity and all.

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Nothing To Prove

Unfocused: I heard something yesterday that made me laugh. It was from a guy that was at a charity auction. There were a bunch of wealthy people there all bidding on these high dollar items to raise money for the kids at a hospital. These people were paying way more money for these things than they were actually worth. Like $14,000 for a $1,000 cruise....but hey, it's for the kids so why not. Well one of the items was a painting, and two of the gentlemen got into a bidding war. Finally after the bid was up over $3,000 one of the men turned to his wife and said, "I am gonna go broke proving how rich I am".

Makes me wonder how often we do that in our personal ministries. How often do we "go broke" creatively trying to prove we are good at creative ministry. So many times I see people in their personal lives, and pastors at their churches try and do too much. We develop so many programs, and very well intentioned events. But they all seem so fall short of what we pictured in our heads. We spend so much time trying to save our entire school, or workplace; only to have no one come to church with us or accept Christ. Makes me think that maybe we are trying to "go broke" proving something.

Maybe we are trying to prove it to ourselves (that we ARE actually good enough). Maybe we are trying to prove it to other people or pastors. Or maybe we are just trying to prove it to God.

We need to become a little more self aware. Know that you aren't good enough....and the only thing that actually makes you worth it IS God. Who cares what others think about your ability. Live your life for the audience of one....Christ. That is the crux of our message to the people we are reaching out to, yet we seem to ignore it in our ministries and lives. And trying to prove something to God is a ridiculous idea when you realize that.....HE IS GOD. He knows you. Every hair on your head. Do you really think that you are going "prove" something to Him?

Years ago, a friend of mine shared something with me, that has helped me get past these things in my life. You only have 100% of yourself to give. If you split that up into 20 different ministries that means each one is only really able to get 5% of your attention. What if you only split it up into 3. What if the ministry you were trying to make happen all of a sudden went from 5% to 33%, or 50%, or 100%. How much bigger of an impact would your ministry have? God gave you gifts. He also gave us fellow believers to staff the weakness of your ministry.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

Why don't you focus your ministry on just a couple areas that you know you can make a huge change in, and let God bring others along side you to reach those other areas. God gave you a purpose....and it wasn't to "go broke proving how rich you are". Focus.

peace - love - recycle

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