“But the fruit of the Spirit is Patience.”- Galatians 5:22 (NIV)

INTRODUCTION

Contrasted to the acts of the sinful nature is a single-minded lifestyle called “the fruit of the Spirit”. This is produced in God’s children as we allow the Spirit to so direct and influence our lives that they destroy sin’s power, especially the acts of the sinful nature, and walk in fellowship with God.

Patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is a virtue that is essential for healthy living. Its vital role in every human relationship has made it a subject of intense scrutiny by all kinds of professionals. Yet, in spite of all the extra attention, PATIENCE remains a very scarce commodity in our fast-paced world.

From a little child vying for attention, a tired parent lashing out at a child, angry drivers hurling insults at other road users, jostling and shunting in queues, driving above speed limits, and many other commonplace instances, we see evidence of the scarcity of patience in every human activity.

Society also seems to be going along well with the reality of this scarcity. Continuous research churns out faster products for everything from pencil sharpeners to computers, aircraft, ships, and rockets. Leaping from merely faster upgrades, many manufacturers now boast of instant versions of their products, as proud tribute to those who do not have patience, and whose lack they want to gratify.

God knew that we would get to this point in our human history, and gave the warning ahead of this time, that “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”– Matthew 7:19.So, what is the good fruit that He wants us to bear? It is the fruit of the Spirit, and PATIENCE is one of the core components of that fruit.

1. The Benefits of Patience

Patience described as the inner toughness that surmounts many odds, is generally regarded a family member of wisdom, peace, joy, kindness, love, and many other good traits. Many cultures acclaim patience as a trait that has the ability to figuratively cook stone to tenderness, and as a trait that can overcome any obstacle, clean up any defect, and thrive through any opposition, trial or affliction.

Patience is not that obvious in ideal situations. As a result, it is easy to miss its presence where people are punctual, keep their words and promises, are alert to personal character defects and promptly work hard to correct them, respect deadlines, honour commitments, and seek for the good of others. Many will take it for granted that such situations happen by chance, yet it is the existence of PATIENCE that fosters such an environment.

When God said we must bear the fruit of patience, He did not intend it for His benefit, but for our own individual and collective good.

Medical evidence gives us a list of many diseases that can develop as a result of not having sufficient patience. Some of these diseases can be fatal, and the leading one is cardiovascular disease. Hypertension and stroke are among the common diseases that can result from prolonged impatience expressed in thoughts, words, or actions. Anger, unforgiveness, slander, envy, jealousy, discontent—these are all some of the common outworkings of those without patience.

2. The Need for Patience

In his insightful book Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, Dr. Samuel Koranteng Pipim, a Christian writer has captured the Christian’s need for patience in this way:

“Some Christians think they can suddenly obtain patience by “casting out the demons of impatience”! Others betray their impatience when they convince themselves and their “name-it and claim-it” followers that they can command God—‘in the name of Jesus’—to give them instant patience.

The truth, however, is that the only reason people even ask God for patience is that they are not honest enough to admit that they are frustrated with His “delay” in granting them an overnight success, instant wealth and health, quick solutions to their problems, a rapid recovery from their illnesses, and instant marriages or relationships.

Prayer for patience is almost an ultimatum—either God gives us right away what we want or we quit serving Him.

But God’s Word teaches that we cannot command God—or even the devil—for patience. Neither does the virtue of patience come overnight. Rather, it is developed over a period of time through a rather painful means” (Dr.Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, pp. 37-38).

3. The Bible on Patience

What does the Bible say about patience and how do we obtain it?

According to the Scriptures, there are two kinds of patience: (i) patience as long suffering; and (ii) patience as endurance. The first deals with how we are to relate to inconveniences brought about by others or situations; the second concerns our attitude toward trials and afflictions. The first (longsuffering) is a passive Christian virtue that deals with persons. The second (endurance) is an active Christian virtue in respect of things.         

English Bibles often use the same word for both types of patience.  However, the original language of the New Testament, Greek, uses two different terms to emphasise the distinction between the two.  The first word ismakrothumia. It means “slow to anger” or “to be long before one gets angry.” It is the word used by Paul when he says “Love is patient” (RSV; NIV), or as the King James Version of the English Bible puts it, “Charity suffereth long” – 1 Corinthians 13:4. It is the same word used when Paul urged the Thessalonian believers to “be patient toward all men” – 1 Thess. 5:14 (KJV).

The second word often translated patience is hupomene.It is sometimes rendered in our English Bibles as “endurance,”  “fortitude” or “steadfastness.”  This kind of patience has to do with how a Christian must deal with trials and afflictions. It depicts an object that is put under intense pressure, and being under that kind of pressure, remains intact, and does not break up. The Apostle Paul uses this word in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 when he says, “But in all [things] approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience [hupomene], in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings” – 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 (KJV).  

As Christians we are expected to possess both the passive and active kinds of patience—patience as longsuffering and patience as endurance. We must bear long with others and we must calmly endure trials and afflictions. Thus, the two terms are often used in the same passages of Scripture.

For example, in Colossians 1:11, the Apostle Paul urges us to walk according to “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” – (KJV).  Again, in his second letter to Timothy, he urged young Timothy to cultivate both kinds of patience by following his “doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience – 2 Timothy 3:10 (KJV).

4. Developing Patience

The need for more patient people in our world will continue to increase even as its absence becomes more critical.

Strange as it may seem, patience is developed in the crucible of affliction, when a person willingly and totally surrenders to God’s will—whatever that will may be. The book cited earlier, Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions, offers the following summary of what the Bible teachers about how to obtain patience:

The discipline of trials is God’s appointed means to obtain the stamina of patience – Romans 5:3, 4; James 1:2, 3. The Lord thus sends trials in our lives to build up our endurance—to make us stronger Christians.

One can think of patience as diamond, and trials as the process by which diamond is made. The reason diamond is the hardest rock is because it has been subjected to very intense heat and pressure for a very long period of time. After the ordeal, that ordinary rock becomes something very valuable and precious. Likewise, the Lord puts us under the pressure of trials in order that we might become spiritual diamonds. The more we are tested, the stronger we become, the more beautiful we will be, and the more useful we can be for God’s service. – James 1:4.

While trials produce patience; yet we need patience in trials. We cannot claim to have patience unless we have trials in our life, for trials test our patience. – 2 Corinthians 6:4, 5; 2 Thessalonians 1:4. We must therefore, not be discouraged by trials. Even though the discipline of trial is apt to make our hands hang down, and our knees grow feeble, we must gather stamina and run the spiritual race to the finish line. – Hebrews 12:12, 13.

But very few, if any, can willingly endure trials in order to obtain patience. For this to happen, we need the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the believing Christian. This is why patience is one of the components of the fruit of the Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, He transforms us from within and enables us to bear long with others and also remain calm under afflictions and trials. We desperately need the Holy Spirit, if we are to experience this power in our lives. It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart that we can bear the fruit of patience. The hymn below summarises patience for us in a profound way:

1. Patience, O, ‘tis a grace divine, set from the God of peace and love,

That leans upon our Father’s arm, as through the wilds of life we rove.

• By patience, we serenely bear, the troubles of our mortal state,

And wait, contented, our discharge, nor think our glory comes too late.

• O, for this grace to aid us on, and arm with fortitude the breast,

Till, life’s tumultuous voyage o’er, we reach the shores of endless rest.

• Faith into vision shall resign, hope shall in full fruition die,

And patience in possession end, in the bright worlds of bliss on high.

To Ponder: Joseph Addison, the 17^th Century English poet reminds us that “Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.” It’s good advice worth taking because the former circumstance we’ll have in abundance. It is, therefore, wise that we are armed with the right skills to be able to thrive under any adverse circumstance. 

Stay blessed!

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By: Dr Joyce,the author