Waiting Patiently, Waiting Right

I did not pray or read my Bible before leaving the house today. I knew that was wrong so I promised myself that I would do that first thing in the office, and I did. The single verse I read was from James chapter 5; simple yet with profound meaning for me.

⁷My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. (CEV)

That verse admonishes 'friends' to be patient until Jesus comes back again. In that context, a friend would refer to those who are of a common faith that the Lord Jesus walked teh face of this earth, died to save lost man and ascended physically to heaven only for him to be on his way back sometime in the unknown future (all we know is that the future is now nearer than ever). Are you a 'friend'?

The point that struck me most, however, was the parallel drawn from the farmers' expectation. Upon careful thought, I understood the following:

1. No farmer has any reason to expect anything if he has not planted anything. In other words, whether the rains come or not, it makes almost no difference for the lazy farmer who placed no seed in the ground. So, while we await the Lord's return, part of our waiting activities should be that of sowing, that we may have something to look forward to. Are you planting?

2. No farmer would expect to reap something different from what he had sown. That is common sense! It does not matter how much and how long the rain falls, one who has planted corn cannot reap onions. That tells me that the type of seed sown is the type of plant that will grow and the type of harvest to be gained. While James 5:7 does not expressly mention harvest, you and I know that the main reason why farmers want to see their plants grow is so that they might have assurances of a good harvest. What are you planting?

3. I then saw that there is a season of the rains. James 5:7 calls it the 'spring and summer'. Every farmer must have planted before then, otherwise they would not be waiting for the rains to make their valuable crops grow. The message is then simple: Plant now, before the rains come!

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 2: They are Passionate

‘Throw your hat over the fence and your whole body will soon follow’ (J. F. Kennedy).

Passion is all about giving your entirety into the pursuit of a cause. It means making commitments such that you can hardly turn back. Your passion determines your motion. Few things succeed that are not pursued with passion. ‘The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly’ (Cecil B. DeMille).

With passion comes focus; and with focus comes steady aim. Ask the best hunters around you and they‘ll tell you how important these things are. Sir Isaac Newton gave so much of himself to his researches that he left his supper untouched on many occasions. These missed suppers have all gone into the postulation of golden scientific principles as we have them today. Or what is physics without the Newton’s laws of motion?

Little John Kennedy strongly desired to get juicy apples from a tree which everyone considered inaccessible. ‘How do you go over a tall fence without footholds and you don’t even know what’s on the other side?’, everyone seemed to ask. John’s passion overcame him one day and guess what he did? He threw a precious hat of his over that fence and the rest is history. That’s where the quote at the head of this aritcle came from.

Where there is passion, possibilities are not for away.