PATIENCE
- Patience is required for running our Christian race successfully.
- Christian race is long time process and to finish well patience
This makes Patience an important virtue in our Christian life.
- Christian race is long time process and to finish well patience
This makes Patience an important virtue in our Christian life.
Each one of us is part of the body of Christ, who is redeemed by the blood of Christ and is chosen and predestined to inherit the blessing in heavenly places with Christ.............We are redeemed from the world but kept in the world. The world where we are in is not always conducive for our spiritual walk and growth...........Every day, from when we wake up till we sleep, we encounter so many situations, issues, problems testing our patience............We live in society that is always annoying…making us impatient ...........At times, we experience different kinds of delays and circumstances that cause us to lose our patience.........Our world too bent for immediate and instant things ….We are in a society that is in a hurry for everything. We have instant everything, we are not willing to wait the slightest amount of time. And when we do not get things instantly at times, we lose patience. We’ve become too used to immediate results. Our world and society does not seem to encourage patience.
Every day we witness instances people stepping over other people to come up in life and in social status.......But for a Christian believer, patience is the path that they have to tread on. It’s not easy to be patient…It goes against human nature…..It’s contrary to our culture…..
Considering the circumstances we live in, cultivating patience would require us to swim against the stream. In Bible, Patience is also referred by long suffering, endurance, standing firm, etc.
How do you define Patience? What is Patience?
Patience is a calm endurance based on the certainty that God is in control.
The ability to accept delay, suffering, or annoyance without complaining or becoming angry:
It means waiting your turn, knowing your turn will come.
It is also the capacity to wait, endure pain sorrows and joys - calmly
Patience would refer to the forbearance under suffering and endurance in the face of adversity.
Patience is noun denoting being
– Nature / Character
- Level of endurance......Our level of patience is measured by how well we behave when we undergo frustration, irritation, mental agony.
Bible gives much importance to this Virtue: Patience......His many restorations of disobedient Israel, His sparing of Nineveh, His deferment of second coming are some of the expressions of the patience of God in Bible.
Patience of God towards us would point to His purposeful concession of space and time with an opportunity given for repentance. Rom 2:4 do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
OT has many examples for the patience
- Hebrews 6:15 says of Abraham, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” It took long years of patient waiting for Abraham and Sarah to receive the promise of God.
- Hebrews 6:15 says of Abraham, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” It took long years of patient waiting for Abraham and Sarah to receive the promise of God.
- God lifted Joseph to palace from a pit. But Joseph had to patiently wait, while being faithful in each situation till he reaches there.
- James 5:11 You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Job was a wealthy man. He lost his crops, property, cattle, servants and his children. However, Job did not blame God. He accepted that God had a plan and patiently waited for the fulfillment of the plan.
Bible also have examples of how His people has lost the blessings because of impatience
- Esau lost his birth right because of impatience. Genesis 25:29-34. When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished…. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birth right . He could have waited for some more for food controlling his hunger, but he lost his patience and the birth right Israel people could not wait for Moses and this led them to commit Idolatry. Exodus 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
- Moses’s impatience cost him his entry to Canaan Numbers 20:10-12 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, "Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
- Saul’s impatience cost him his kingship.
1 Sam 13: 8-10 Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with
fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived.
1 Sam 13: 8-10 Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with
fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived.
- James and James lost their cool when Samaritans did not allow them to pass
through their village
Luke 9:54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
through their village
Luke 9:54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
- Scripture tells us that patience emerges out of trials. The by-product of delays and trials is patience which is the very thing we need. >>>> Patience is Necessary for Spiritual Maturity....The road of impatience almost always leads to spiritual disaster, health issue and relationship related problems.
When we face trials and our prayers seem unanswered, what is our response
– Patience or impatience?
– Patience or impatience?
When People talk at our face critically and in insulting way? How do we
respond – Patiently or impatiently?
When the people we trust disappoints us? How is our reaction? – Patience or
impatience
When people we consider reliable and faithful, cheats us, deceives us how do
we react - Patiently or impatiently?
When our near and dear ones wrongly judge us and reject us, how do we take
it - Patiently or impatiently?
When we work sincerely and sacrificial do ministry and if we do not get the
right results, how do we react - Patiently or impatiently?
We suffer when we are impatient, because lack of patience produces stress
which affects our mind health and relationships
Areas where we have to exercise patience
- In problems. When a problem comes up that slows my progress, it is difficult to exercise patience. When we get impatient, we make mistakes and some of them can be very costly. Proverbs 14:29. A person of great understanding is patient, but a short temper is the height of stupidity. When we allow our emotions to get out of control, we make bad choices.
- With people. When people interrupt us or they give us negative criticism, or if they speak harsh words toward us, we want to get back at them as soon as possible don’t we. Ephesians 4:2 Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other. We are to be patient with one another. We are not to return evil for evil
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 Be patient with all. See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good for each other and for all
- With yourself. Many times we struggle with sin and we get discouraged with ourselves to the point of wanting to give up.
At times, we lose patience and go to the extent of giving up our ministry
efforts….……..DO NOT GIVE UP
efforts….……..DO NOT GIVE UP
- Great works are performed by perseverance. The Taj Mahal took approximately 20 years to complete.
- Thomas Edison was an inventor who accumulated 2,332 patents worldwide. Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
- In the parable of sower, there are four soils listed about the one which bear fruit it is written in … Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
- Thomas Edison was an inventor who accumulated 2,332 patents worldwide. Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
- In the parable of sower, there are four soils listed about the one which bear fruit it is written in … Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Helps for Patience
• Do not over expect.......We tend to expect the environment to conform to our expectations......We tend to expect people to conform to our expectations.......Our expectations are often unrealistic
• Practice Patience consciously
• Do not respond immediately
• PRAY - God is source of endurance Rom 15:5.
• FOLLOW – Christ example of endurance 2 Thes 3:5.
• OBEY THE GUIDANCE OF SPIRIT.....Spirit is the source of patience Gal 5:22.
• Do not over expect.......We tend to expect the environment to conform to our expectations......We tend to expect people to conform to our expectations.......Our expectations are often unrealistic
• Practice Patience consciously
• Do not respond immediately
• PRAY - God is source of endurance Rom 15:5.
• FOLLOW – Christ example of endurance 2 Thes 3:5.
• OBEY THE GUIDANCE OF SPIRIT.....Spirit is the source of patience Gal 5:22.
Having patience would mean
• Man’s endurance when faced with the adversities of life.
• Enduring under injuries inflicted by others.
• Restraining some action or emotion.
• Holding up under difficult circumstances
• Holding back from retaliation against someone who has harmed us.
To be patient means to make a choice to be so in every day of our life.
