Patience

 Patience:  Waiting without complaint, even when we experience discomfort; endurance; self-control

One of the hardest things to learn in life is patience.  We don’t want to wait on anything.  We want it now…or 10 minutes ago…or yesterday.  And we certainly don’t want to keep our frustrations to ourselves.  We want everyone to know that we are irritated; we complain.  We live in a society that promotes instant gratification.  Impatience can lead to stress, anger and frustration.

PATIENCE IS A CHOICE

“But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” (Romans 8:25 NLT)

Patience is a choice.  How we react to any situation is our decision.  We can choose to be frustrated and complain or we can choose to be patient and hold our tongues (and hold back our nonverbal responses as well - such as sighs, eye rolling, etc.).

Learning how to wait teaches us self-control and self-discipline.  It also teaches us patience, tolerance, delayed gratification, and the fact that other people besides ourselves have needs and rights.  Patience is more than just waiting though, it is about the attitude we have while we wait.  A patient person can wait with joy even when the situation may be stressful or anxious.  A patient person avoids searching for or settling for a quick fix.

PATIENCE WITH GOD

Patience with God requires faith, and to exercise faith is to surrender final control of one’s life.  To lack faith is to give in to one’s desire for control.  Our patience with God will only be as strong as our ability to overcome this desire and surrender every aspect of our lives to Him.

DEVELOPING PATIENCE

Patience does not develop overnight.  Waiting is not always easy.  Nothing teaches like experience.  Every nuisance, long wait, affliction, traffic jam, etc. builds your threshold of tolerance and patience.

The Bible mentions that we must have patience.  To truly love, we must have patience because love and patience go hand in hand.  “Love is patient” is directly listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4.

God’s power and goodness are crucial to the development of patience.  We must be mindful of how God is constantly at work in our difficulties, to make us more like Jesus.  We must be intentional and deliberate in increasing our patience.  We should focus more clearly on Christ and strive to imitate him in all things, large and small.

When having patience seems too difficult, the Lord will give us strength to wait.  Patience is fueled by faith.  The key to getting through any situation is to lean upon God and pray.

Use times that require patience to focus on what truly matters.  This will help you gain perspective.  Small annoyances (traffic jams, waiting in line, nuisances) become minimal when compared to larger tribulations (those who are sick, those who have lost loved ones, those struggling with a huge situation in their lives).  A screaming child may be tiring to its parents, but to remember the blessing of having that child can quickly change those feelings of frustrations to pure love.

Jesus Christ was incredibly patient.  He loved the unloved.  He approached the unapproachable.  He faced hatred and death with grace and love.  He was tested more than any other man on this Earth ever has been and ever will be. 

When life pushes on us, we must try not to push back.  We should take a step back and pray.  Patience may be difficult, but it is something we must practice daily.  Lean on God when you feel your patience slipping.