Standing the test of time

Greetings:
Standing the test of time. There is no greater measure of a man than that.
Real greatness is not measurable until the ravages of time have made their mark, and the glamor of personality has given way to the timelessness of character. Then, and only then, can we determine whether or not a person is a success.
In the New Testament, Paul wanted to know if men were so grounded in the Word that the winds of adversity would only make them stronger. He was looking for a few good men. And those would have to be men who would still be standing when the storms had passed, and the years had melted away. He was looking for men whose lives would stand the test of time.
If you take the Old Testament and watch carefully the manner in which God destined men for greatness, you cannot help but notice one common ingredient. Some had great talent; some had none. Some had authority; they were princes and kings, others were shepherds, or farmers. Some were learned men, students of the great teachers of their age; others were taken from the back side of the desert with no formal education at all.
They all had one thing in common. Time.
God seemingly always called them, often exposed them to failure, then let them settle into those seemingly endless stretches of time when it appeared they were washed up, forgotten, or  unusable.
Moses in the desert herding his father-in-law's sheep. Joseph rotting in prison. Abraham waiting, waiting, waiting for the promise. Elijah was by that drying brook. Job sitting on that rock pile, seeming to die a second at a time while the clock ticked on, his pain went on, and nothing seemed to be happening.
God was taking his tender plants and setting them in the sunlight to ripen. Sometimes the heat seemed unbearable. Sometimes the wait seemed interminable. But always the results were predictable. Once they had gained God's perspective of time, they were ready to be placed on the firing lines of eternity. Not before.
And almost always, God's perception of time was far different than theirs. They didn't live in this jet age we live in, where microwaves cook in seconds what used to take hours, and planes take us in hours where it once took us days to go.
They lived in an era of slowness, yet even then God seemed to be taking forever.
Valleys, trials, tribulations, conflicts, and adversities are all a part of this life and all a part of our walk with the Lord.
Let us be grounded in our faith, strong in our knowledge of the Word and intent on standing the test of time.
Be blessed.
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