Sunday, August 2, 2020

Trying to Be Patient

Trying to be patient is an exercise in futility until you know what patience is and how to receive it. Most of us know that we need to be patient. Few of us know how. Patience has to do with your relationship with God. Trying to be patient is a struggle sure to fail based only on will power. You may desire to be patient without understanding how.

Patience is God's power, never sheer will power. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit of God. "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience" (Galatians 5:22). You cannot be patient without yielding to the Holy Spirit. He will do through you, what you cannot do without Him. Your relationship with God's Spirit produces good fruit, including patience.

Patience comes through God's love. "Love is patient and kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4). To be patient means you are filled with God's love. Patience is a characteristic of love. Ask God to fill you with the love of His Spirit. Patience will be a result. Impatience is a sure sign that we are not under the control of God's love.

"God is love" (1 John 4:8). As a result, God is patient and kind to us. Likewise, He wants us to be patient and kind to others. When we are not, it is a warning that we are not yielded to God's Spirit. We yield to Him to do in us what we cannot do ourselves. Living under the control of God's Spirit is living in love and patience. Then, and only then, you can be patient.