BIBLE STUDY WEEK # 4 (SHARING MOMENT)

 We can learn a lesson from the American soldiers who were taken prisoners in the Viet-Nam war, and kept in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Most of them were flyers who had to endure this setting for 3 to 5 years, and some as long as 9 years. Those endless months of monotony and loneliness could have driven them crazy, but someone started the idea that they were in the university of North Viet-Nam, and they were there to improve their future. Some began to learn a foreign language. Others played on imaginary instruments using their memory of strings and key boards. One group put together a Bible from a composite of all the verses they could remember, and then memorized that Bible together. One officer played golf in his imagination, and returned to the U.S. and became a tournament-level competitor. The point is, they made a choice to either grieve about their mess and give up in despair, or have hope there would a bright future, and patiently began to plan for it by pursuing some goal that would prepare them for that future. They could not control their circumstances or their environment, but they had the choice of being impatient and thus depressed, or of being patient and building something positive for the future. This is the spirit Christians need to keep growing when they find it easier just to give up and stay at the level where they are. One of the most beautiful things in the world is an old Christian who still loves to learn. That is patience on display. Robert Schuller, a fairly old Christian himself, speaks these words of wisdom that represents that which is experienced by many pastors-
 
Don't try to rush God.
Mountains don't move overnight.
Give God time to work miracles,
I have seen God dissolve resentments,
resolve frustrations, fill lonely hearts with new love,
and wash away hurts like a new wave
washes away scars on sand
scratched by children's sticks.
God can get you out of a rut,
onto a new road,
and over the mountain that seemed impassable,
if you will be patient.
I have seen God turn juvenile delinquents into great men,
criminals into good citizens,
alcoholics into church elders.
 
His point is the present is never the end of the story. No matter how discouraging it seems now, God will have the final word, and we can wait for that victorious word if we let the Holy Spirit produce in us the fruit of patience.
 
This really blessed my heart!