Growing in Patience

There are some truths in life that challenge us in ways we are not always prepared for. Most

of us think we’re pretty flexible and can roll with the punches, but these truths show us that we don’t have as much flexibility as we thought. One of these challenging truths is about the lessons of life. In Ephesians 2:10, God says that we are His masterpieces—His finest work, and He created us in Christ Jesus for all the good things He planned for us long ago. As if this isn’t awesome enough, God created each of us to be a unique individual. No two people are alike, and because of this we all come to this earth with a different set of spiritual lessons to learn. The challenging part is that if we don’t wake up to the reality of these lessons, they keep cycling back around, and it’s not fun. So, we’d do ourselves a world of good to stop resisting and recognize that patience is one of the most important spiritual lessons to learn. Once its firmly anchored in our hearts, it will help us with all the other lessons.

Patience is one of the Spirit’s fruit. It is a spiritual discipline that many of us resist, but it is critical that we own it. Because of our resistance, life becomes much more of a struggle. The absence of patience is impatience, and impatience will really do a number on our lives because it causes us to miss our blessings. Not only this, impatience skews our judgement, and it can cause us to make very poor choices in life.

We live in a culture where everyone wants things done on the double, and many of us allow this mindset to jeopardize our spiritual growth. In Philippians 4:19, God tells us that He will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Never has this blessing been realized to the extent to which it has been during our time. We are blessed with the most elaborate luxuries as well as the most advanced conveniences. They are readily available to almost everyone. God has blessed us beyond measure, and we are witnessing the fruition of Philippians 4:19 in real time. Because of His incredible bounty and generosity, many believers have an expectation that God owes them big time, and if they don’t receive something they’ve prayed for, they wonder why He’s taking so long. Many of us take this impatient approach because we live in a world where the culture is ‘I want it now!’

God has given us many precious promises. In Jeremiah 29:11(NIV), He told His people, ““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”” Romans 8:28(NIV) tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” There can be no doubt that Heavenly Father wants to bless and keep us safe, but we can never forget that we ourselves are an integral part of God’s plan. We have a calling to carry out and a purpose to fulfill. God partners with His people to get things done in the earth.

He tells us to trust in Him, and this trust must be developed over time, through our encounters and experiences with Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is true about the fruit of patience as well. The Apostle Paul points to the experience knowledge we glean over time in Romans 5:3-4. He said that we can glory in tribulations not because we are gluttons for punishment, but because tribulations and challenging times teach us patience.

This patience works toward building the experience-bound trust that will solidify our enduring hope in Christ. And this enduring hope in Christ never falls through the cracks or gives up during hard times. It just keeps going and going and going. This is what patience does in our hearts. It helps us to build the endurance that is essential to our walk in Christ. It also helps us keep our cool when people and things around us are flipping out. We can be patient through hard times because of the work that the Spirit is doing in our hearts.

Growing in patience when it comes to our relationships and interactions with other people is also a very important aspect of this virtue. In Ephesians 4:2(NLT), through the Apostle Paul, God tells us, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.” Many of us are too quick to point out each other’s faults. We’re impatient even with those we love, never mind the folks who cut us off in traffic or who make us wait when we’re in a hurry. We sometimes treat people so unkindly, and it is because we haven’t disciplined ourselves to be patient according to the standard of Christ.

Again, the thing with patience is that experience is the fertile ground upon which its roots are developed. Ephesians 3:17 tells us that Christ will make himself at home in our hearts as we trust him. As we go through life’s lessons, we must hold tightly to the reality that God never leaves us, and that even though the lesson is uncomfortable, He’s causing everything to work together for our good. A work in our inner man is being done through our trust in Him. Our roots are being anchored in His love, and this is what keeps us strong. So, lets open our eyes to the reality that growing in patience is a must, and when we open our hearts to what and how the Father is teaching us, we will be thankful and rewarded for being flexible to His Will.

Prayer for Patience

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please forgive me for anything that I have said, thought, felt, and done that is contrary to Your Word. Please give me the insight and direction to correct my mistakes, so that I am realigned with Your Will. Heavenly Father, I’m asking for a revelation to blaze a trail through my consciousness, and to do so in such a way that it shows me errors that injure my walk in Christ. I desire to truly repent, so that I have a change of heart and a change of mind. Please do a work within through Your precious Holy Spirit, as I am led and guided by him to all truth.

You command us in Your Word to run the race You have set before us with patience and endurance. Please help me to increase in the Spirit’s fruit of patience, so that I can continue to run this race of life with Your grace. I know that I need patience in order to increase in faith, and this faith helps me take hold of the good things You planned for my life long ago. Thank You for helping and showing me the way to prepare for all You have in store for me. Thank You for continuing to pour out Your love on my life as I cling tighter to You through Your Word. Thank You that my latter days will be greater than my former days, as I continue to delight myself in You. In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Growing in Patience

Recent Posts

Comments

Subscribe to Our eNewsletter