My Wife and I were leaving home to begin our summer vacation. We brought with us Ashley, our six year old granddaughter, a joy in our lives and a priceless gift from God. With great anticipation, and knowing that she was going to a destination that until recently did not even exist in her young mind, asked the question. "How long will it take us to get there?" Considering that I was still backing the car out of the driveway at the time, made me think that this question could be a prelude to the same questions that our children would always ask when they were younger. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Will it be much longer? I tried to reassure her, (knowing all the while that I should have left this task to my Wife), that it will not take long, and that we will surely arrive at our destination. Somehow she did not seem overly assured. Which is the reason that I should have left this to my wife. But there was a sense of trust in her eyes as if to say, "surely Pap Pap (yes that is what I'm called) would never lie to me"!

As I think back on all of this, I now realize that I knew exactly how long the trip would take. She did not. I knew all the twists and turns the road would take. She did not. I knew all the stops we would make along the way, and how much fun we would have there. She did not. I knew that once we arrived at our destination, we would have a wonderful time together as a family. She did not. She could only trust and believe that all this would be so.

I know in my own life I have struggled with being patient. There were times when I would pray seeking God for help and then act just like I did when I was a child. How long will it take God? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? During these times my Wife in her usual loving way would say to me, "you must have patience!" My clever response, knowing that I could play with the spelling of the word patience would be. "If I wanted patient's, I would have been a doctor!" She would just smile and walk away. I thank God for my Wife. She is absolutely correct. We must have patience. We must realize that God, our Father has not lied to us. We will surely arrive at our destination.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes there could be a considerable amount of time go by between praying and seeing the answer to your prayers. Sometimes it may seem as though it will take forever! As each day passes your hope for that "expected end" begins to fade. You begin to feel all alone, and wonder if anybody really cares if you arrive or not. You begin to feel pressured and tempted to doubt if the Word is really working in your life. It was times like this that I would begin to think that maybe we are missing the whole point of all of this patience stuff. Maybe there is something we should be doing, other than worrying and asking "are we there yet."

Yes there is more to this Faith and Patience stuff than meets the eye. Remember when you pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, you are not put "on hold." You do not get an "answering service." You get directly connected to God, and he is listening! God also realizes that as you are patiently waiting for your answer, the devil will come and try to tempt you to Hang Up! Don't do it! Stay in the Word. Stay connected to God. God has much to say to you through his Word, and there is something God wants you to do while he is "talking to you."

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 1:1-4

"Perfect and entire, wanting nothing!" Can you imagine that? Can you see yourself this way? What a state to be in! This has nothing to do with your physical surroundings or current physical condition. God is talking about a Joy and inner Peace that permeates your every cell. The very Joy and Peace of God filling your spirit, soul, and body! This is the exact opposite of what most Christians are doing. Whenever they feel that they are being "tried" or "tested" they begin to complain. They wonder why God is doing this to them. What does God have in mind with this "trial" or "test"? The very last thing God's children will do is "count it all joy", and this is exactly what the devil wants them to do. Get down, begin to feel sorry for themselves, and have a "pity party". Well I have bad news for you. The only ones that will come to that kind of a party is the devil and his bunch! You need to be joyful, and begin to praise the Lord. Don't try to "drum up" your own joy, use God's joy. If your thinking that you don't have God's joy or you don't know how to get it, then I have good news for you. The "joy" God is referring to in James 1:1-4 is already inside of you. If you are a born-again christian then you have the very Spirit of God in you, and the Spirit has God's joy in him, and it is yours to use.

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Now the reason God wants you to be joyful (with his joy), is that his joy will give you the strength you need to get through any situation.

...for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

If you expect to live a life of faith, then you will need strength, God's strength. Joy will give you the strength you need, the very strength of God. Begin to speak words of joy by speaking the truth from God's Word. The joy that resides in you by the Holy Spirit will begin to strengthen you in every area of your life. You will truly be able to do all things through Christ which strengthens you.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:12-17

The words "temptation", "tempted", and "tempteth" all have the same meaning. A putting to proof, adversity, discipline, and tried. Look at what God is saying. When you are going through "hard times" and you think that you are being "tried" and "tested", don't ever think that all of that is comming from God. God said that he will not tempt or try you. God also says that we are experiencing these problems because we are "drawn away" (separated from Jesus, not spending enough time in the Word of God). And this is all happening because of our own lusts, what we want to do and how we want to do it. "Do not err" God is saying, don't believe that these problems are comming from me!

Many of God's children believe that God will put something like sickness and disease or some calamity on them as a test or a trial. But look at these scriptures.

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:. 1 Peter 2:21

Jesus never set an example of sickness or disease or some calamity to follow! As a matter of fact, Jesus destroyed and removed sickness and disease every chance he got!

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48

God is not sick or suffering with some sickness or disease. We are to be as he is.

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:36

God loves us and only wants the best for us. We are to love others and only want the best fot them!

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Ephesians 5:1

We are to follow after God. If you believe that God will try to teach you something, or try to make your faith stronger by putting sickness and disease on you then consider this. You can follow God's example and teach your children the same way, by putting some calamity on them, and you could do it without being in sin. After all you're only following God's example! As a loving and caring parent you wouldn't even consider doing such a thing to your children. Yet God's children will accuse him of doing that very same thing to his children. Correct me if I'm wrong........

"Tests and trials are not designed to make your faith stronger! I thought that is what the Word is for"!

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

You cannot aquire faith, nor can you make your faith stronger, except through the Word of God. If you could then you don't need God, for he is the Word!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

That is exactly what the devil wants you to do. It's much easier to hit a stationary target than one that is moving. When you are praising and worshipping God, speaking God's Word (which is a doubled edged sword), the devil will stay as far from you as he can get. He knows what the Word will do to him. It will defeat him every time! That is why patience is a very powerful active force to be reckoned with. The devil is looking for the christian who is just waitng around, losing patience and getting discouraged. They are the ones the devil can attack and destroy.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: John 10:10

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

There is no doubt that when you are praising and trusting God, and actively seeking his will in his Word, then you can expect God to safely bring you through life's journey and arrive at your destination in accordance with God's Word. Whatever you may be facing, do not lose your confidence in God's Word. Continue to "count it all joy". That is patience in action, and it will lift you up and keep you going until you see the answer to your prayers.

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:35-36

Please do not skip or skim over the statements between these two horizontal lines. It is critical that you understand them and apply them to your life. Read them as many times as necessary until you fully understand them in your spirit, not just in your head. Your life will never be the same. What you are about to read is not hard to understand with your intellect, but unless you allow this revelation knowledge to get down into your spirit, it will do you no good. This is how patience works, and how it is applied!

Patience is like planting lettuce seed in your garden. Once your plant it, you never once think that turnips will come up. Of course how could turnips ever come up, you planted lettuce, right! You did plant lettuce, didn't you? Remember, you get exactly what you plant, so be careful what you plant! God's Word works exactly the same way. If you plant seeds that pertain to forgiveness, love, or healing, for example. Then you will receive the spiritual ability to forgive, love, and you will receive your healing. God's Word is a seed and it will produce exactly what it's supposed to produce, without fail.

.....there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 1 Kings 8:56

In the very beginning God put in force a law, that all living things that God created, would produce after its own kind. That is because within each living thing there is a seed that God put there. That seed will yield 'fruit' just like the original.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so Genesis 1:11

Now when you think about how wonderful and powerful that law is, considering it continues to work after all this time, think about this. God refers to his Word as a seed that will be 'planted' in your heart. That seed (The Word of God), once planted will produce after its own kind in accordance with Gods law. The seed of love, will produce love. The seed of peace, will produce peace. The seed of healing, will produce the removal of sickness and disease, and restored health.

You put patience to work when you continue to 'plant' the Word of God in your heart. As you do this you prepare your 'ground' to receive the Word. Your 'ground' or your spirit becomes more and more fertile, and gains the capacity to produce a high yield. You become less and less concerned about things in this world. Your primary focus is God's Word. There is less and less worldly things that will choke out the Word of God. Just as you would with patience continue to weed your lettuce patch, you do the same in your spirit. Continue to pour the Word into your spirit and it will produce after its own kind. That is the law!

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matthew 13:18-23

Allow me to give you some practical examples of how to apply patience through God's Word.

Your marraige may not be what you want it to be. You may feel that your spouse just does not understand how you feel. Maybe your spouse just does not communicate with you in the way that you want. If only my spouse would listen to me and try to understand my point of view. Any of these issues can begin to create a division between a husband and wife. This is exactly what the devil wants, divide and conquer, and this is the last thing God wants to happen.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24

God has not changed his mind! He expects two people in marraige to operate as one. If you want to "do your own thing", then you will eventually destroy, or make your marraige ineffective. Many times it's the "forest for the trees" syndrom. So many couples forget to tell each other that "I Love You!" In my own marraige I do not believe that one day has gone by that I didn't tell my wife that I love her. Now when I'm talking about love, I am not talking about that mushy wimpy stuff. I'm talking about the love of God. God's love will hold a marraige together. It will be like glue that makes the two of you inseparable, one flesh.

And above all these things put on charity (the Love of God), which is the bond of perfectness. Colossians 3:14

Apply the Word of God to your marraige. Pray to God and tell him that you agree with his word, and that you belive by faith that you and your spouse are "one flesh". As you continue to do this you will begin to have the mind of Christ toward your spouse, and nothing will ever be the same after that.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

If your children are still small, then begin to teach them about God. Read the word to them. Instruct them about God's love and forgiveness. Don't be afraid to display your affection toward your spouse in front of your children. To many children are taught by their parents how to hate, distrust, be unforgiving, just by the way their parents act in front of them.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

Many times it is necessary to discipline your children, but combine it with the Love of God. Praise your children when they do good. To often we spend to much time focusing on the negitive things that our children do. Telling your children that you appreciate the good things that they do, will give your children a sense of self worth and value that they will carry into adulthood, and will pass that on to their children.

As God said. If you train your child in the way that they should go, they will not depart from that path!

Other areas that you can reference. Healing/Divine Health, and Forgiving

Just as our Granddaughter did during her vacation with my Wife and I, "Be patient along the way"! Trust in the one that is "your driver"! Know that you will "arrive at your destination", and it will be an expected end (in accordance with the Word of God), not an unexpected end.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. Psalms 91:16

Go ahead and enjoy the trip. "Count it all joy"! God really does love YOU.