Posts Tagged ‘Patience’

23 Dec

Patience please

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, christ, Christian, Christianity, Christmas, forgiveness, Jesus, New Year, Passion, Patience, Religion, Salvation, simplicity. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Patience:  an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay (source: http://www.dictionary.com).

Followers of this blog have likely heard the adage, “Patience is a virtue.”  I would add, “Patience is in short supply.” A close look at modern American society reveals that collectively we are an impatient bunch. We detest delays caused by heavy highway traffic and long stoplights. We hate standing in lines. We love express checkout lanes at the grocery store, next day delivery, and express mail. We like on demand TV programs and complain if a webpage takes a few extra seconds to load on our phones and computers. At this time of year, the Christmas season, even little kids join in anxiously counting the days until Santa arrives with his bag full of presents.

Patience has suffered in the information age, especially since the advent of the Internet. We are bombarded with a flood of information from a multitude of directions and sources. It is impossible to take it all in.  Consequently, we are increasingly fed information is small, easily digestible tidbits, whether it be news articles, sports reports, and even those pesky pop-up ads trying to sell us all kinds of stuff.

There are numerous studies indicating the way information is presented in compact form today alters the human brain, making it difficult for people to focus on long articles, books, etc. Many people today, especially younger adults, simply lack the patience to read a long book like the classic War and Peace or a James A. Michener novel, preferring the CliffsNotes version to the full-length one.  With patience in short supply, who among us will write the next classic novel or paint the next masterpiece like the Sistine Chapel? Who will perform the long, grueling research projects to cure human diseases? Who will travel to the planets?  

My wife and I are perfect examples of patience—she being a good example and me a bad one.  She is the type who will write personal notes in each of the many Christmas cards she sends. I, on the other hand, sign them and stuff them in the envelope. She can solve a difficult jigsaw puzzle in record time.  I would not dream of even starting one. She is great with handling our grandkids. I quickly slip into the drill sergeant mode when their antics irritate me. She frets about practically nothing.  I fret about myriad things. She follows a straight and narrow path while I zig and zag along. She has put up with me for almost 50 years—now that’s patience!

I am blessed with a patient wife, but even more blessed with a patient God.  When I consider my personal transgressions and the collective transgressions of our nation, I marvel that God has spared us his wrath thus far. God’s love for us is evident in His only son Jesus Christ. He suffered a cruel death on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. Through his glorious resurrection, Jesus overcame sin and death and opened the door to salvation for all who believe on His holy name. God is patient and gives us second chances, but only through the shed blood of Christ. Oh God, continue to be patient with us I pray!

 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. –Colossians 3:12

Wishing all my readers a very blessed Christmas and a happy, healthy 2023. See you next year! Please pray for those of us in the upper Midwest where we are currently experiencing polar-like temperatures, snow, and wind.

12 May

One Journey Ends, Another Begins

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, Christianity, Faith, Patience, peace, Prayer, Religion, Simple Living, Unemployment, work. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Man on a JourneyI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.    —Jeremiah 10:23 (ESV)

I just completed a long journey in my life.  This particular one, an 18-month job search, was extremely wearisome.  In retrospect, however, all of the waiting was worth it.  I have been blessed with a new job that appears to be a nearly perfect match for my skills and desires.

Finding good work in the current economy is challenging, particularly for those of us who are a little gray around the temples. To make my search more difficult, I had decided to take a new direction with my work. It was therefore necessary for me to convince potential employers that my skills accumulated over some 30 years were transferable into the new line of work I was seeking in the nonprofit field.

The long journey was fraught with emotion—anticipation, hope, disappointment, rejection, self-doubt and frustration.  I applied for dozens of jobs, preparing resume after resume and spending hours online completing application after application.  Oh, that businesses would all use the same application process!

In many cases, my applications went unanswered.  For others it was rejection letters or very impersonal emails stating simply, “We have decided to pursue another candidate.”  It was a situation in which I could have easily lost hope, but I found comfort in Saint Paul’s words, from 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  (ESV)

I focused intently on trying to remain faithful, casting worry and doubt aside as I searched for employment. Of course there were lapses along the way.  I had to constantly remind myself that I was working on God’s timeline, not my own.  I found peace in the knowledge that He would provide the right job at the right time.

Sizakele Lugojolo, director of Lutheran Hour Ministries – South Africa has written that the peace of God, “is the peace we experience when we put aside the selfishness and let God be the center. This is the peace we experience when we give God the glory and not take it for our own satisfaction. This is the peace we experience when the will of God prevails, not ours.”

Just as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, during my job search I frequently prayed that God’s will might be done—that I would end up in a place where He could use me as he sees fit.  Many dear friends offered intercessory prayers for me.  I could feel their power; it sustained me from day to day.

Along the way I came to realize that reaching one’s destination is not the prize.   The reward lies in how one handles his present circumstances—getting through each day of the journey.  For my many networking friends who are still searching I have but one piece of advice, “Let go and let God!”   As Saint Paul so eloquently wrote:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.                                                                                                                                                             —Philippians 4: 4-7 (ESV)

With my new job begins a new journey.  Like a good soldier,  I’m calling it my mission. Oddly enough, it entails something I’ve learned a bit about over the past 18 months.  I’ll be helping recently unemployed individuals find a new job. If I can help even one person find employment in less time than it took me, I’ll feel like I’m contributing to a worthy cause.

 Once you have a mission, you can’t go back to having a job.  —Shai Agassi

 

 

 

 

6 Jan

A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in Bible, Christianity, discipline, Faith, learning, Patience, Prayer, Religion, Self-discipline, Simple Living, Time Management, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

New Years Eve Time Square

“Exercise is labor without weariness.”  —Samuel Johnson

Exercise is an important part of my life that was ingrained during a 24-year career in the U.S. Army.  I enjoy a good workout and feel out of sorts when I go too long without exercising.  In January there are always a lot of new faces in my local fitness center—mostly folks who made a new year’s resolution to exercise and lose weight.

Moving into February the numbers dwindle and by March, few of the new faces are still around.  We humans are great at making promises to ourselves that we never keep.  This year I’ve made a resolution worth keeping and it’s not the usual “lose some weight.”   Instead, I’m going to slow down.

“Adopt the pace of nature.  Her secret is patience.”  —Ralph Waldo Emerson

An Army career often requires one to maintain a “hair on fire” pace for long periods of time.  Mine was no exception. After retiring from the service, I continued the fast pace in my civilian work.  I can recall my mom continually advising me to slow down, but I never made an attempt to comply until fairly recently.  A couple of years ago I came to a realization that there are better ways to spend one’s time than to dash about in a frenzy trying to get as much done as humanly possible.

Slowing down doesn’t mean getting lazy, however.   It’s more about tempering the urgency in life and finding balance.  If I succeed at this, there won’t be sufficient time to do everything I might be inclined to do.   Therefore, I aim to re-evaluate what’s important in my life and then do my best to focus on the things that matter, while sweeping aside the trivial.

“The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.”   —Oswald Chambers

I’ve been thinking about some of the things I can sweep aside this year.  Television ranks high on the list.  As my wife often reminds me, I watch some fairly mindless shows with no redeeming social value. Shows like ”Man vs. Food” come to mind.  If you’re not familiar with it, check it out on the Travel Channel website.  It’s about a fellow who travels the country seeking “pig out” restaurants  (www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/man-v-food).

The “Colbert Report” is also on my “fuggedaboutit” TV list.   I enjoy the show immensely, but it truly is mindless entertainment.  There are others, but I’ll spare you the laundry list.

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”  —William Penn

As a management consultant, I periodically presented time management seminars.  They were very well received by every audience. Unfortunately, I constantly find myself violating the time management techniques I know to be effective.   I aim to be more disciplined with my time this year.

One of the best techniques I know to save time is by turning off the TV.  Limiting time on Facebook and other unproductive Internet sites is also advisable.  Avoiding web surfing and clicking links on the web pages one must visit will also save an enormous amount of time.

I’m also going to avoid checking emails and messages on my phone every few minutes.  At present, I’m an email version of Pavlov’s dog—grabbing my cell phone every time an email or text message alert beeps.  (For those struggling with time management, the Mindtools.com website has a simple, 10-step approach to help you get on track http://goo.gl/RsWrQ1.)

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”  —Groucho Marx

By reducing the time spent in front of the boob tube and on unproductive websites, I hope to make some time for reading.  I’m not talking about casual reading either.  Gibbon’s classic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has been sitting on my bookshelf for about three years.  This year I plan to dust it off and dive in.  I’m also going to try to read or reread several books by C.S. Lewis.

“Prayer does not equip us for the greater work, it is the greater work.” —Oswald Chambers

At the top of my “to do” list for 2014, however, is spending more time in the scriptures and prayer. Prayer is work and I plan to work a lot in this new year.   Romans 12:12 advises us, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (ESV).  Now that’s a new year’s resolution worth keeping.

Divine Simplicity: Focus on the things that matter…sweep aside the things that don’t.

 

 

18 Feb

Discipline in Everything

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, discipline, Faith, health, Lent, Patience, Prayer, Self-discipline, Unemployment. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Cupcakes

Developing discipline is neither easy nor pleasurable. Anyone who has tried to diet knows this! For most people, dieting is a struggle between the desires of the body and the needs of the spirit.

Like dieting, a good job search also requires strict discipline. The best approach is to develop a strategy and stick to it. Your strategy must be proactive. It should include networking, personal branding & marketing, lots of research and a double dose of patience and perseverance. Approach your job search like a fulltime job until you find employment. At the same time, use your period of unemployment as an opportunity to improve yourself: try to shed a few of those extra pounds; develop a fitness routine to improve your physical condition; work on acquiring some new job skills that will make you more marketable and current in your field; reach out to help others around you; and work on disciplining yourself spiritually.

Taking just a few minutes of quiet time each morning to pray, study the scriptures and reflect on the day ahead will add clarity and purpose to your day. Christians could learn a lesson from the followers of Islam. Muslims stop five times per day to pray–morning, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. Periodically pausing for prayer throughout each day is guaranteed to help you cope with stress and worry, two challenges that you will encounter daily while unemployed.

Mark 1:35 (NKJV) tells us that, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” If this is the way the Lord began his mornings, how can we do otherwise? If you don’t currently start the day with some quiet time with God, I challenge you to give it a try during this season of Lent. A blessing awaits you.

Psalm 84, the blessedness of dwelling in the house of God
How lovely is Your tabernacle,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.[b]
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You! 

Today’s Lenten Prayer: a prayer for self-discipline
Lord, give me the wisdom to see
No good life comes without right discipline.
Give me the grace to impose it upon myself
Lest others do it for me.
Help me to discipline my tongue
That I may be clear rather than clever
Sincere instead of sarcastic
Help me to discipline my thinking and actions
To do what is right
And not what is easy
Let me get on with the job on hand
Doing the best I can
And leaving the rest to You. Amen.

Today’s Reading: Oswald Chambers – the Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance
http://utmost.org/the-discipline-of-spiritual-perseverance/

15 Feb

I’m Tired of Waiting

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Faith, Patience, peace, Unemployment, work. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Clocks - end time

Patience is in short supply in America today. We live in a culture of instant gratification, taught by the media that we needn’t wait for anything. We buy new computers that will load a web page a second or two faster than the previous model. We impatiently pace while the microwave heats a dish in 60 seconds that would have taken 20 minutes in a conventional oven. We buy with credit cards before we earn the money to pay for the things we want. We type text messages on our cell phones while driving our cars. We pound our fists waiting for the traffic signal to turn green so we can hurry to our next destination.

For the unemployed, patience is one of the first virtues to be tested. In today’s economy, it doesn’t take one long to figure out that even though he or she might be highly qualified, it takes time—sometimes many months—to find a new job. It’s best to approach a job search like a marathon, not a sprint. Slow and steady is the key to success. Patience is essential—never give up!

Fortunately, God is extraordinarily patient and doesn’t give up on us. Probably the greatest example of patience in the Bible is displayed in Jesus’ relationship with His apostles. Only a few hours before Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter, an eyewitness to the transfiguration, denied knowing him. Yet Peter became the “rock” upon which Jesus built his church here on Earth. Thomas, who had walked with Jesus and saw him perform many miracles, didn’t believe in the risen Lord until seeing the resurrected Jesus with his own eyes. Even after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles remained confused and didn’t fully understand what Jesus was really about until they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

During this season of Lent, make an effort to pray for patience and ask God to strengthen your faith. And don’t forget to thank Him for his patience with you!

Psalm 40 (NKJV), Faith Persevering in Trial:
I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me!
14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the LORD thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

Today’s Lenten Prayer:
Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of my life, in disappointments, in the thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied. Let me forget myself so that I may enjoy the happiness of others. Let me always hide my little pains and heartaches so that I may be the only one to suffer from them. Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden or embitter me; that it may make me patient, not irritable; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow or proud or overbearing. May no one be less good for having come within my influence; no one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble, for having been a fellow traveler with me on our journey towards eternal life. As I meet with one cross after another, let me whisper a word of love to You. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity. Amen.

Today’s Reading: James 1:2-8 Profiting through Trials
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James 1:2-8&version=NKJV