I wrote a post not long ago about facing the fire. The fires of life can burn hard. In the past, I wasn’t really good at owning up to what it was like to walk through the flames of life. Much of this tendency to hold it in is self-inflicted. In my generation we didn’t usually own up to walking through the fire. In the 1970s–80s, when we went to church, victory was supposed to be the norm for the believer. While I believe victory is what God has us live in, victory isn’t victory on its own. You have to win a battle before you can declare victory.
Win a battle while playing Risk
My husband loves to play a board game called Risk. I like playing the game, but Jamie loves playing Risk. He loves it so much that in all of our grown children’s homes, there is a Risk board game on standby because Dad will want to play at some point when he is visiting. We also have one at home because who knows when we will have to play Risk?
I won’t try to explain the game, as it’s one of those long-lasting games (think of a song that doesn’t end). But I will say that winning the game requires a long-term strategy because things on the board can change suddenly. Having a long-term strategy when playing Risk mirrors what we face daily when we fight the long-term battles of life; we have to be determined to have the patience required to win. No one in their right mind wants to face the days, weeks, months, or even years of battling that we have to endure while on this planet. But we do want the victory. To get to victory, we must endure with patience.
Impatience leads to complaint
In Numbers 21:4–9, there is one account of Israel complaining when they were making their way in the wilderness. In verses 4-6a, it says:
"The people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? There is no food [bread] and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.' The Lord sent fiery serpents..." Numbers 21:4-6a NKJV
Impatience will put us in a position of complaint. When we complain, we forget what good we have experienced as we concentrate on the battle at hand. And when we forget, we open the doors of our lives wide to “fiery serpents.” It’s interesting to note that in verses 7-9 of Numbers 21, God gave the antidote for those bit by the serpents in the form of a bronze serpent mounted on a wooden pole. Anyone who looked at this form was healed.
That bronze serpent was a foreshadow of Christ. In the same way, when we have become embittered by impatience, God provides for us in Jesus. And if we look to Him, we will come out in victory, even though much of the pain we feel has been self-inflicted because of our impatience and complaining.
Win a battle with patience
So, hang in there! I am right with you in the middle of a battlefield. It’s tempting to lose patience and complain. If I give in, I am risking victory. I’ll win a battle—this battle and the ones that come after—with patience.
"But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:4 NKJV
