The Necessity of Patience
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the necessity of patience.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Necessity of Patience
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of
your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing." James, Chapter 1, Verses 2 through 4
Brothers and sisters, in today’’s broadcast we examine the necessity of patience. We are all subject
to the necessity of exercising patience whether we want to or not. No amount of impatience can
move reality forward. It moves according to the delays of time and the handicaps of space. When
God said, ““let us make man in our image, and after our likeness" and projected us into time and
space, inherent in that decision was the necessity for man to exercise patience. Time and space
appears to be the technique which the Father uses to escape from the absoluteness of eternity and
infinity. By creating us in time and space, the Father is able to be with us and in us, and to experience
our ascent to him. We becoming perfect even in the process.
Patience is an attitude. It is necessary in the face of the delays of time and the handicaps of space,
and it becomes a quality that brings tranquility when understanding and faith are added to it.
Understanding the growth process and the nature of time-space creations fosters patience. Patience
is the observation of the process that assembles all the parts in the necessary order for completion.
Every single part from the smallest to the largest must be assembled, and this requires time in the
face of space. It is the Father’’s will that we exercise patience in the face of the necessary delays of
time and handicaps of space. Patience then becomes an attitude of accepting and submitting to the
Father’’s will.
From our incomplete perspective and as those who subsequently struggle to overcome the obstacles
that are associated with the delays of time and the handicaps of space, patience appears a hard thing
to master indeed. Especially is this so in the face of trials and tribulations. When in the arms of
tribulation, time seems to drag on; the greater the tribulation, the slower it seems to pass. But we
must remember that this is a subjective assessment because the intervals of time are fixed and
proceed at a constant rate. Seconds add up to form minutes, and minutes add up to hours, and hours
add up to days, then weeks, months, years. We note that, as we grow in years, our subjective
experience of times changes. It appears to shorten.
Why does it shorten even though the objective experience of time remains the same? As our minds
become more and more spiritualized, they are able to partially escape from time, even though the self
itself continues to experience time. In our imagination, time presents no barriers. A hundred or a
thousand years can be spanned in an instant. We call attention to those of us who sometimes during
supreme moments appear to see their whole life flash before them in an instant.
What other qualities are helpful when we suffer the pangs of tribulations? What should be our
attitude? Even though time is delayed, it cannot stop an experience. In time and space all
experiences--painful or pleasurable--have a beginning and an end. A good thought to keep in mind
and to remember is, "It won’’t be this way always." Even the most horrible time-space experience
has an end to it. And with the faith that all things work together for good for those who love God,
even the tribulations redound to our eternal good. It is a difficult emotional experience to endure
suffering, but prayer is sustaining while the wheels of time turn. The exercise of hope for a better
tomorrow is appropriate because of the transient nature of time-space experiences.
But even so, if you were a skilled artisan working on a masterpiece, would it seem right to rush
through it just because some of its aspects was difficult or challenging, or would you recognize that
much satisfaction would be gained when the project was finished, that the real joy was in the work?
The meaning is in the journey; the value comes at the end of the journey. But we must remember that
the more difficult an experience, the greater the contrast between what is and what should be, the
greater the revelations of spiritual values and meanings. So doing our entrapment in the web of time
and space, as we struggle to be free, we must pay heed to the example of the beautiful butterfly who
struggles and struggles but eventually gains his freedom to soar the sky at will while all behold his
beauty.
During the difficult times of a delayed experience, we must always remember that the Father has not
forgotten us but continues to shower us with his love. And as we continue to struggle with the
delayed sojourn of a painful experience, we must shift our focus from the downward gaze of
preoccupation with matters that we don’’t have control over to the upward gaze and behold the
stream of merciful values and meanings coming forth from the heavenly Father in the form of truth,
beauty, and goodness. Even in the most difficult circumstances, we must unchain our faith and allow
it to reveal the divine values and meanings of our struggle. Yes! It is difficult emotionally to suffer
through a painful experience, but we can do it, with hope. Countless others before us have done.
As we struggle with the delays of time and the handicaps of space, we must take our example from
Jesus who lived his life through trials and tribulation as "seeing him who is invisible." Let us do all
that is humanly possible to master these experience. Let us focus our minds and all the powers of self
on the task at hand and allow the metamorphosis of time to work its will and transform us into
spiritually perfected creatures as a result of the willingness to grapple with and submit to the
experiences of time and space.
Finally as we recline on the seat of patience, it is helpful to remember "that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
This concludes today's message on understanding the necessity of patience. We hope you find
something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Necessity of Patience
