Patient Persistence

Now, I know that most of us will think of Haman as the ‘baddie’ and Mordecai as the ‘goodie’ in this story of Esther. However, I don't think we canjust completely write off Haman, for he does show some good qualities.
We can admire and appreciate the qualities people have even when we may not agree with their overall ethos of life. So, in light of this, I shall say - I admire Haman’s patient persistence.

So, to develop this idea further, we need to look at Chapter 3 of Esther, herewe see the revenge plot coming into place for Mordecai’s ’disrespect’ of Haman, and Haman's response:

*7*In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. *8*Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. *9*If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” *10*So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. *11*And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 
Esther 3:7–11

Do you also notice Haman’s patient persistence?
Haman literally casts lots every single day until the ‘lot’ falls to him to approach the king with his revenge plot, and how long does this go on for? 12 months!!!
12 months of doing the exact same thing, in the exact same way for pretty much a whole year! Surely that shows persistence, restraint and patience. These are characteristics that we do not like to attribute to characters that it is easy to dislike. Yet, there is good in everyone. I mean, God created all people, so in some way, shape or form, they display the character of God whether we like it or not and whether they like it or not. Here, in this chapter, we see something admirable about Haman, even uf he is using this God-given gift for non-godly purposes, the good quality is still there. Haman displays great patience and persistence - Can you imagine doing the same thing, in the same way, everyday, for a year?

Being persistent and patient is hard for most of us, we live in a society which is surrounded by a culture of getting things done, and getting them done now, the attitude is 'I don't want to wait for my meal at a restaurant, I want good-tasting food, right now'. 'I don't want to wait for my problem to be solved, I want a quick-fix'. I bet you come across that, maybe you are even in this quick-fix mentality, well, I am sorry to inform you, that, often, it is better to wait.

Haman had learned the art of patience. He waited, he didn't act until it was right to do so, how many of us rush right in and often make a mistake or make matters worse? sometimes use even rush in when time would actually do a better job of solving the issue than us even needing to say or do anything.

Haman had realised the benefit of being patient, but not being idle. He was also persistent, he knew the goal he wanted to achieve, he knew he had to wait for the right tie yet in the meantime he kept going, kept planning, kept working. I think we can learn some good lessons from Haman, so today I encourage you to consider;

1. Is there an area that I need to grow in persistence? Is there some way that I need to keep going even when I don't want to?
2. Is there something I need to patiently wait for? Am I expecting a quick-fix or a long-term solution?