Patience and Rest

Jesus already knew the problems you would face in this life, and He made provision for you ahead of time. For those in ministry leadership, this is essential to remember. God knew thousands of years ago the challenges you would face in your ministry, so when you bump into a situation, choose to respond this way: “Lord, You already knew this was going to happen, so give me the wisdom I need to respond appropriately and use what’s already available to me—with no panic and no fear. God, You’ve got my back.” That’s the power of understanding God’s grace and the power of remaining in peace.

You may wonder whether you have big faith, weak faith, or small faith, but God isn’t concerned with the size or quality of your faith. He says your faith only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.  The question that ministers and leaders really must answer is whether we will allow the seed to remain at work. The Bible calls that patience.

Prolonged faith, or patience, keeps you in the right position to see the manifestation of what you’ve been waiting for, regardless of how long it takes. It takes faith to continue declaring your healing despite reports from the doctor. For healing to manifest, your response must remain the same. “I’m healed today. I’m healed next week. I’m healed next month. I’m healed!” You must choose to maintain the response to what has already been done and lock yourself into prolonged faith.

Hebrews 10:36 says you need patience so that you might receive the promises of God. Prolonged faith keeps you in the right position to take hold of what grace has already provided for you. It can take time to see the manifestation of what you’ve been waiting for. Ask God for the patience to remain in faith without becoming distracted or responding in fear. Ask God for the patience to remain in rest.

Rest comes in knowing that God’s grace has already gone before you and given you victory in every situation. It has already been done! You already have the victory! If you want to enter that rest, you’ve got to allow God room to work. How do you do that? You mix your faith with the Word of God (Hebrews 4:2). Your efforts alone will not cause the manifestation of your healing, provision, or whatever you’re believing God for; only your faith will do that in accordance with the grace that God has already provided.

In fact, Hebrews 4:11 tells us that we should work to enter God’s rest. That’s the only work required of us after the reset of the Cross—work to rest. Don’t labor to try to prosper or get healed. Don’t labor to try to get delivered or get what’s already done. Labor to rest in the belief that it’s already done. The Holy Spirit will begin to lead you and guide you. He’ll tell you not to worry about what you do; just spend your time believing. Your belief and reliance upon the Holy Spirit will cause the correct behavior to manifest in your life. Don’t act from a place of unbelief or self-help. Faith without works is dead, but acting without believing is just as ineffective.

Just like a seed needs time to grow, the manifestation of grace needs time to catch up to your faith. Don’t take your faith off the field early. Maintain your position of faith through patience, and rest in the truth that God’s grace has already given you victory.