processing into Patience

I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons. I never thought about how they mirrored life in ways to help us laugh at ourselves.

Take, for example, that infamous coyote chasing after the elusive roadrunner. As wily as he could be, the coyote never caught the roadrunner. Even his best plans were thwarted. I laughed as he found himself in mid-air for a few seconds before dropping. A tree growing out from the cliff stopped his fall. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the tree broke and sent him falling again. He hit another tree, then a boulder, more rocks, and finally the bottom. He stood up looking worse for it, stars circling his head, but he’s a cartoon. He doesn’t die. So we can laugh, even when the first boulder he hit fell on top of him. He crawled out from under it with greater resolve and designed a new plan.

Yes, sometimes life events can seem like we are living in that cartoon—with one exception: we do get hurt. In those times we may wonder where God is in all of it, but He has not remained silent. He spoke with metaphors through His prophets to give us hope and understanding.

• God purifies His Word in us like silver tried in the furnace of earth. Those fiery trials we go through bring out the uglies deep in our hearts until He sees the reflection of His Son in us.
• Sometimes God uses another person in our lives as stated in Proverbs: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV).
• His work in our lives proves He hasn’t given up on us. “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:11-12 NKJV).
• James encourages us to “let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, wanting nothing” (James 1:4 NKJV).

When I find myself in the middle of life’s tumbling, I think of another analogy I ran across in my reading: using a rock tumbler. The rock polishing process begins with selecting the right stones. Once selected, they are scrubbed to remove surface crud. That may include knocking or chiseling off sharp protrusions before being put into the tumbler.

I remember some things I had let into my life dropped off very soon after surrendering to the Lord’s call to me. Not sure why I had ever let them become a part of me, I was glad to see them gone. With only the simple first fruit of praise and thanksgiving on my lips, the Father made me ready for deeper work in my life so I could produce more fruit. My rough edges had to go.

After the choosing, scrubbing, and shaping of the rocks, the craftsman puts several stones into the tumbler along with some hard grit and water. He then turns on the tumbler for a specific amount of time. At the end of that time, he turns off the tumbler, washes the stones, and checks their progress. He repeats the process until the ugly rocks shine with the brilliance of precious gems.

Confusion, pain, and disillusionment enter our lives and toss us like the stones in the rock tumbler. In those times, it’s natural to cry out for a rescue, but remember, God has a plan afoot in our life. We must be patient.

Jesus is the master craftsman. He has a purpose for each one He chooses, a purpose far greater than scrubbing away our crud. He puts us together with others—we aren’t alone in our tumble—and uses the washing of the word and the power of the Holy Spirit to smooth out other imperfections. The gem was there all the time, but only the Master could see it.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

So as James said, we need patience for Him to have His perfect way in us. Or as the cartoon taught me: If you are still alive, you still have purpose, so crawl out from under your boulder and continue.