Fruit of the Spirit – patience

Patience

Patience can be defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. The opposite of patience – aggravation & agitation.

To me, patience is fully trusting God while being in a state of limbo – without working yourself into a tizzy because things aren’t panning out the way that you thought they should. There are so many people throughout the Bible that exhibited patience over and over. For example, Job, Jeremiah, and Moses. We can also look to Elizabeth for a lesson on patience. She waited for years – years – for a baby. She never gave up. She kept her cool. She kept her composure. She stood faithfully on God’s promise, and He delivered.

The world looks toward selfish desires to fulfill the longings of their heart, and they want these desires fulfilled right now. As Christians, we need to remember that God’s timing is key – not ours. He sees the big picture. We also need to keep Christ in the forefront of every detail of our life. I truly believe that if God is our number one desire, then all of our desires will in fact be fulfilled.

Not only do we need to be patient with God’s timing, we also need to be patient with one another. The thing is that we mess up every single day, but God still sticks around – and He does not have to. As followers of Christ we need to display that same type of love (agape) and patience for others. The book of James tells us to be slow to speak and slow to anger. This is key when dealing with loved ones and strangers alike. If patience is a virtue, then my prayer is for God to guide me and grow me in this noble trait.

“Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another.” – Ephesians 4:2

“The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him. So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us—And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.” – Lamentations 3:25-27