Patience and Joy in the Christian Life

 God never delays. He comes just at the right time. Not only did Jesus save us, but He is coming back. This makes me excited. I’m like a child at Christmas. I am joyfully expectant of what the “new” will be like.

In the meantime, I want to live a joy-filled life. Not a disconnected joy about the future, but a present one. What does joy look like in the midst of pain? This is a question I frequently ponder.

The Bible has a lot to say about waiting well. It has a lot to say about enduring pain. It has a lot to say about God. It explains who He is, what He has done, and how we are included in His family.

I wish to reflect on Psalm 75 today. Through this Psalm, we learn how to navigate life. Life can be tough. Thankfully, in this Psalm, God shows us a few things. These “things” function as a compass to guide us home. Two of them are practical and two are theological.

1. Gratitude
2. Meditation
3. Sovereignty
4. Justice

Gratitude

I have found solace in the Psalms. For example, Psalm 75 begins with “We give thanks to you, O God” (Psalm 75:1, ESV). Gratitude is a great way to express joy. It is a way I have found joy in pain. Thanking God for all I have relieves me from what I don’t have. I have all my needs, both physically and spiritually in Christ.

We need to be thanking Him for what He provides. He has given us breath. He has given us life. He has given us everything. Gratitude is an attitude that will go a long way. It not only leads to God worship, but your sanity. It’s amazing how these two are interlinked. By giving God praise through gratitude, we are supplied with what we need. It’s a very healthy relationship.

Meditation

The Psalm goes onto say, “I will recount your wondrous deeds” (Psalm 75:1, ESV). Reflecting on the word “recount” reminded me of the importance of meditation. In order to remember, we have to reflect and meditate upon God’s “wondrous deeds” (Psalm 75:1, ESV).

I am professional at meditating on failures, faults, and falsities. This is the wrong kind of meditation. All my anxieties, fears, and sins are rooted in wrong meditation.

Why am I so quick to recount the wrongs of others? I should be quick to recount what God has done. God has done incredible things! The more we meditate on Him and less on worldly things, the more joy will spring forth. Not only joy but patience to endure anything in this world.

Sovereignty

God is sovereign, and He has a best time for everything. Psalm 75 declares this, “At the set time that I appoint, I will judge with equity”. God will do what He says He will do. He is faithful and always fulfills His word.

From my experience, there is relief in reflecting upon God and His sovereignty. It’s good to know He is in control and not others. We often think we are in control or politicians are in control. God makes it clear that He is. Not only is He in control, but He always does the right thing. That includes in your life and mine.

Knowing that God is in control allows us to rest. We can look at our lives and know we are exactly where God wants us. Even if our situation is dire, even if death or pain is around the corner, we can trust that God is using it for our good.

Justice

God judges correctly. The second half of Psalm 75:2 says God will “judge with equity”. We don’t have to fear a wrong judgment. We don’t have to fear the judge, or the jury is corrupt. We know God is not corrupt. This allows us to let go of where we believe justice should be served.

I cannot tell you how liberating it is to not judge others. Maybe you are justified in judging another. Maybe that person wronged you. I encourage you to give it to God. Allow Him to be the judge. I often find that when I am most impatient is when I feel I’ve been wronged. Have you ever seen someone get cut off in traffic? What happens? All patience is out the window, and the person turns into a road-rager. Why? They have been wronged.

Peace and joy only exist where judgment is not. This is theologically true between us and God, and us and others. We have been justified by faith through Jesus Christ to appease the wrath our sins deserve, and we have been liberated from our sin to do the same for others.

Conclusion

Patience in the Christian life is practical and theological.

We must practice gratitude. Gratitude is an attitude that must be put on. The more we practice gratitude, the more joy and peace we will have in our lives.

We need to meditate. We need to recount all the wondrous things God has done for us. We choose what we meditate upon. We can meditate upon God, or we can meditate on worldly things. Meditating upon God produces joy and peace.

God is sovereign. The more we understand that God is in control, the more we will let go. The more we let go and trust in God, the more joy and peace we will have.

God is a just judge. We can let God judge. We do not need to judge anyone, but let God judge because He judges perfectly. By letting go of judgment, we can place joy and peace in their place.