We all have regrets about things we once did. In many situations we regret our lack of patience and faith when we most needed it.

Great achievements in life require much patience and faith. Consider school for example.  In order to progress academically we must start from the primary stages of school then secondary stages and lastly higher education. Our level of education determines what position we obtain in our chosen profession.

As we pursue our ambitions we needs to exercise patience and have faith that one day we will achieve our goal. As young people there are so many hardships that make us uncertain of where the road heads.

We need to have faith that one day we will have a degree or achieve the training we need, but unless we put our effort into it, our faith will produce no fruits. While pursuing our goals there are ups and downs and a great need for patience.

Faith takes follow-through

There was once a time when the Israelites had a goal, a goal to reach the Promised Land of Canaan. However, many failed to make it because they lacked patience and firm faith. When things went well they were jubilant, but when things seemed to go badly they threw insults on their leaders.

Faith based on prayer and God’s word is more effective than faith alone. Take Job for example, the man who was loved and blessed by God. Yet there came a time when he fell into temptation. He lost everything, but because of the faith and patience he had, he never did forsake his creator as his friends advised him to do.

It’s the same with pursuing our goals in life, we may meet obstacles that seem impossible to overcome and think that it is the end. There was once a man named Daniel, who had a goal to always please and serve the living God. As he did so, he angered his Babylonian captors and was sentenced to death in the lion’s den, but faithful and patient as he was, he never turned from God and God delivered him.

Some obstacles in life are there to make us strong and ready, as they did for David.  During his childhood he conquered wild beasts in the bush which gave him the courage to stand before Goliath and defeat him. As Christians, we are blessed to have the promise of help to achieve our goals through Jesus Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

Patience in Action

Patience and faith combined will give us the ability to hold on to our goals, no matter how long the process of reaching that goal takes. Like the great commander Naaman who happened to be a leper and was in great need of healing. When he was told to go bathe in the river Jordan seven times he did so with the faith that it was going to work. He patiently bathed the whole six times without a change but never gave up. After the seventh time, he was healed. His goal was met through faith, patience and obedience.

Faith is the assurance we need of the things we hope for as we endeavor to excel in life. To hold fast to the truth and succeed in God’s way we need faith, and that faith goes hand in hand with action.

Stay faithful to God, have patience, don’t give up though failure seems likely, and most importantly, stay obedient to God’s way of life and His law.