Patience
Patience is an attribute that can be very elusive in our lives. With the invention of the internet, Amazon, and smart phones there are not many things that we can’t get right when we want them. Want a new pair of shoes? They will be in your mail box tomorrow. Need a new barber? Just google and you have 10 to choose from immediately. Need some groceries? They can be delivered right to your doorstep later today. With everything being so immediate in our lives we can sometimes struggle with patience.
For example, look at some of the slow downs we have experienced because of the pandemic. Fast food restaurants can be slow because of the lack of workers. Need a new appliance or car? You might be waiting a couple of months longer than you normally would. Plan on shipping something for Christmas? You better get it done early because they expect it to take longer than usual. Before the pandemic began many of us were living our lives with little to no patience. Now we are forced to be a little more patient in our lives, which is probably a good thing.
Scripture tells us over and over that patience is important. We see it listed in Galatians 5 as one of the fruits of the Spirit. When Jesus tells the parable of the sower he tells us that the good soil bears fruit with patience. We see the patience of God towards us in Romans 9, 1 Peter and 2 Peter. James tells us that we must be patient for the coming of Christ. Timothy tells us to be patient while teaching others about Christ.
Patience should play a key role in our lives as followers of Christ. It is an attribute that we have to work towards in our lives. We aren’t just going to wake up with more patience one day. Although I have a guy in Fresno tell me once that he prayed for patience and his youngest son was born nine months later. Patience takes effort and help from God. But if we work towards it our lives will be more blessed as well as the lives of those we come in contact with.
I’d like to challenge us all to take some time this week and pray that we can have more patience in our lives. Pray that we will have the wisdom to put that patience into practice when we have the opportunity. If we do that, we will make an impact for the kingdom.
Joel Harper
