The Patience and Tough Stuff Connection

by Karen S. Roberts                                  

Our devotion for today is on a character trait that can frustrate us:  Patience.  It is something that most of us struggle with.                                    

We Don’t Like Waiting

When we know God, we are aware of how patient He is with us.  He is even patient with our impatience.  We want to experience blessings from God, knowing that He has promised them.  But we are often impatient as we wait for them.

As we wait for answers to our prayers, God’s answer is often “Wait.”  We don’t like waiting.  We want to see quick results.  But God has a perfect timing, and often there are people with free wills and circumstances that must be woven together in order for what we are waiting for to come to pass. 

Should We Pray for Patience?

James 1:3 tells us that testing or tribulation produces patience.  I once knew a woman who said she would never ask God for patience because she didn’t want to go through the trials that would produce it. 

However, it’s a good thing to call out, “God help me!” when we see our own impatience.  We must be willing to go through whatever process He has in place to build that patience within us.  God is more concerned with developing our character to be Christ-like than in bringing us the quick blessings that we ask for.

I think that one reason that God tells us to “pray without ceasing,” is to help us realize that we need to press on in prayer.  We bring our requests to Him with faith, and should keep on bringing them to Him.  Besides just giving Him our requests, we need to be thanking and praising Him in our prayers, knowing that He is at work to bring about His perfect will.

Patience Through Suffering

Recently when reading 2 Thessalonians, a few Scripture verses on patience stood out to me. 

Paul commended the believers in Thessalonica for their patience and faith as they endured persecution and tribulations.  They were patient, even as they suffered.  He reminded them in chapter 1 that the day will come when Jesus will be revealed and will come with His angels to take over the earth.  Even though we have suffering here on the earth, He will glorify His followers in the end. 

I think Paul was helping them to look past the difficulties they faced to know that the day will come when we will be surrounded by God’s glory.  In that day there will be no more tests and trials for us.  And since we’ll be like Jesus then, we will no longer be impatient.

Counting on God to Make Us Patient

2 Thessalonians 3:3 encourages us that we can count on God.  That includes depending on Him to give us patience.
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

 Satan wants to pull our thoughts toward pessimism, ingratitude, and impatience.  Rely on the Lord to guard you, and allow Him to renew your mind and remove habits of thinking negatively.

Love is Patient

2 Thessalonians 3:5, Paul prays for believers:
Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

We think about the love of God a lot, but what about the patience of Christ?  He is patient with us, for we have a lot of spiritual growing to do.  We mess up often and come to Him for forgiveness and renewal.  He wants to give us His patience.

In the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, one of the things that we learn in verse 4 is that love is patient and kind.  Some translations say, “Love suffers long.”  There is that connection again between patience and trials.  By going through hard things and hanging in there, trusting God, we become more patient.

Be Patient About Becoming Patient

I know we all would prefer to just pray, “Lord give me patience,” and have a heavenly zap of patience hit us immediately.  But most of our Christian growth comes through a process of God molding us through situations in life that can sometimes be difficult.

So even though I don’t want to invite testing and trials into my life, I do pray for patience.  And I ask forgiveness when I realize that I am not being patient. 

God knows what I need in order to be more patient, and I need to continually call on Him for His grace to work in my life to make me into the person He wants me to be.  That includes being patient as I let Him make me more patient.