Devotionals

Patience

Introduction

Have you ever been in a situation that has tested your patience to the extreme? How about babysitting a room full of kids that are all begging for your attention, pulling your shirt and screaming louder than each other? While there may be times where it seems impossible to have patience, we can become better at exhibiting patience in any situation with God's help. Easier said than done, right? Let's start off by defining patience. Finding out what it is can help us to remember why it's important.

Patience. It can be defined as "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset". Take a moment to pause and really let that sink in. According to what we just read, when's the last time you showed patience? It might have been earlier today or maybe a couple of days ago. Or it could've been a week or so, possibly longer than that. It's hard to have patience because it's more than tolerating things. Patience is tolerance on a whole new level.

So what does the Bible have to say about this thing called patience? A lot, actually. ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:8 tells us, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Focusing on the second part of the verse, it's obvious why patience is better than pride since pride has a tendency to make us temporarily forget about the feelings of others. When we focus on ourselves, it's hard to see the bigger picture and God's ultimate plan for us as well as those around us. That's why we need patience to wait so we can start to see that plan a little a time whenever God decides to reveal it to us.
‬
Another verse that mentions patience is Colossians 3:12. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” While there are many important qualities listed in this verse, patience is one of them. Some people see patience as an option; they think to themselves, 'I don't have to wait, I can do things differently and do what I want now'. God gives us the option to make our own choices, but it's good to remember that He also gives us advice to help us make the best possible choices. Even when we do choose something that may have seemed to be great at the time but later turned out to be unwise, God forgives us.

There are two verses from Proverbs that really demonstrate why we need to practice patience. Proverbs 19:11 says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 25:15 says, “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.” By looking at all of these verses, it isn't hard to tell that patience is definitely part of the Christian lifestyle whether we like it or not.
‭‭
Now that we've looked at some bible verses about patience, let's talk about why we should have patience. While there a list of reasons, the main one is because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He sacrificed himself, taking on our sins and punishment and allowing us to have a relationship that will change our lives forever. When you truly appreciate the penalty that Jesus paid for every one of us, you are so thankful that you can't help but let that thankfulness turn into joy and love and all the qualities that God wants us to possess.

To be patient in tough situations, we really have to focus since our human nature is to sin. We have to make good choices like patience until they become a habit. Even when it is a habit, there might still be times when we're tempted to lose our temper or choose not to exhibit patience. When this happens, we need to take a deep breath and remember that loving people should be our main priority in life. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it in the end.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about patience with me and that you have a wonderful day!