“WHO PRAYED FOR PATIENCE?!”
I'm sure we've all heard something like that before, right? Patience seems to be one of those things that everyone wants, but no one ever enjoys the process. In Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV, the word "patience" is replaced with the term "long suffering". Yikes. That definitely doesn't sound like much fun. Who wants to suffer?
However, patience is a fruit that proves time and time again to be both essential and applicable in a multitude of different situations.
"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."
James 1:19 NLT
Being slow to speak and slow to anger sounds an awful lot like being patient in the midst of trying circumstances. This verse is just one of many examples where patience is the underlying fruit of the Spirit that needs to be produced.
Being patient isn't just applicable when it pertains to our brothers and sisters. We also have to be patient with ourselves and with God.
Every one of us are all too familiar with the fact that God's timing does not always match ours. Sometimes it happens much faster, but many times it is much, much slower than we wish it would be. Yet that doesn't change the fact that no matter how impatient we get, God's timing is always perfect. It can sometimes be hard to wait on the things of God; however, "jumping the gun" and trying to do things ourselves will only result in our own demise. Be patient—be still—and know that He is God.
I know personally that sometimes being patient with ourselves can be one of the most difficult things to do. I would look at myself and see the difference between where I was and where I wanted to be, and I would get angry at myself because I wanted my character to be better right then, but building character takes time and patience. It takes waiting and being put through trials that can cause us to feel like we’re suffering. Trials are hard, and many times they push us far beyond what we thought was our breaking point. They cause us to become uncomfortable and sometimes abandon the things we once knew because God has promised us better. Nevertheless, we should all praise God when we are put through trials of any kind.
“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 AMPC
Whatever you may be going through now may not be fun, but have faith in God and know that no matter what happens, He will always love you; and He will always see you through to the end. Test your faith, strengthen your character, build your endurance, and have patience.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
