2 Corinthians 6:6 “We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.”
Colossians 1:11 “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.”
Waiting patiently can be a test of our spiritual maturity. When we are impatient, while we wait, we demonstrate an attitude of arrogance and anger — after all, the world resolves around us, right? Um no. I think we can all relate to the frustration of having to wait for someone or something, even waiting on God’s promises to be fulfilled, can be challenging.
Impatience can demonstrate immaturity and insensitivity to another person. It implies irritation, frustration and anger, that our right for whatever isn’t being fulfilled. When we show patience, we are self-controlled and others-centered. It is not all about me.
Patience is a virtue and it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, as identified in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. There is no law against these things!”
The fruit of patience is listed between peace and kindness. If the fruit of peace has not been cultivated in our lives, we’re not as likely to have the evidence of the fruit of patience. However, if we have the fruit of patience, we’re ready to exercise kindness. So by being patient, we are declaring that we have peace and can give kindness as we wait with endurance.
We can choose to practice patience as we wait for people and as we wait for God to answer prayer, because as a follower of Christ, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him as He cultivates spiritual fruit, including patience. The Holy Spirit of God empowers us to be patient while we wait. Submitting to God’s Spirit is key to spiritual maturity as evidenced by allowing Him to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.
A timely and needed reminder!
Yes, I wrote this after I was waiting impatiently and needed the reminder too.
This is test to see if I’m getting the hang of making comments, etc.
I am seeing your comments Deborah. Thank you for your diligence to test this experiment with me!