What? Are you trying to tell me that we really can grow our patience? This devotion tells you how.
Nuggets
- We are going to need patience as Jesus Himself told us we would have trouble.
- We have to keep keeping on until God calls time on whatever we are facing.
- Meekness is an element of patience, but not the whole pie.
- Patience doesn’t mean we just sit there and do nothing.
Devotions in the Christian Virtues series
I’ve been looking forward to this one. We are finally at patience. It may be one of the best-known virtues.
Have you ever told yourself “patience is a virtue”? Oh, I have.
But 99% of the time, I follow it up with “but I am not very virtuous today.”
Let’s see what I need to learn in this — and hopefully, you will see what you need to learn.
Let's Put It into Context
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (II Pet. 1: 5-7 CSB)
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines virtue as a “conformity to a standard of right” or “a particular moral excellence.” It is talking about how we conduct ourselves as we live our lives. Peter wrote this a progression, indicating there was a growth associated with it.
According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, patience means “an active endurance of opposition, not a passive resignation. … Patience is endurance, steadfastness ….”
Patience is another fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5: 22). It is interesting that, if the fruits are also written as a progression, goodness comes after patience as a fruit but before as a virtue.
Let’s see what the research has to say.
Why Do We Need Patience?
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16: 33 NIV)
As disciples, we are going to need patience. Jesus Himself told us we would have trouble.
No, this isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Trials are going to come.
We know Satan is going to bite on us because we are no longer following the worldview. God’s tests aren’t going to be limited to easy ones.
Thompson made an interesting statement. He wrote, “In working against evil we are prone either to irritation or to despondency.”
I can see the irritation. We are doing what is right. We may not always understand when things aren’t smooth sailing.
What kind of threw me was the despondency. Thompson explained some of the things that could make us lose hope. “We need this patience under the afflictions and wrongs which we personally suffer — afflictions at the hand of God, persecution, calumny, wrong from our fellow-men.”
We need this patience so that we can accomplish the plans that God has for us. It is not going to be easy doing what He asks. It is totally opposite as to how the world operates. That will cause a lot of frustration for us.
Our fellowmen may attack us — verbally, mentally, and physically. We have to keep on God’s plan and His timeline.
Elements of Patience
One element of patience is perseverance. According to Holman Bible Dictionary, perseverance is “maintaining Christian faith through the trying times of life.” We can’t give in to the despondency.
It isn’t just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have climbed the hill.
It is just keep putting one foot in front of the other during the zombie apocalypse, being invaded by Elementals, and [add any trial that you are facing].
We have to keep keeping on until God calls time on whatever we are facing. We can’t give up. We can’t lose faith in Him.
Oh, yeah. It could get hard by the end. But we have the power of God behind us. We’ve got this.
Sometimes, patience can be misinterpreted as meekness. Meekness is “a personality trait of gentleness and humility, the opposite of which is pride. Meekness does not refer to weakness or passivity but to controlled power.”
Resource
Holman Bible Dictionary’s definition of meekness
https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/m/meekness.html
Don’t get me wrong. Meekness is an element of patience, but not the whole pie.
However, meekness is sometimes not seen by the world as controlled power but as a weakness.
Perseverance and meekness have to have an element of tenacity mixed in there. You know – that latch-on-and-dig-in mentality.
It is all about endurance. We have to be able to withstand whatever is thrown at us. Calmly. (I know, that can be the kicker.)
Patience has the tenacity because it also has an element of hope. In fact, Thompson wrote, “Patience is incompatible with despair.” Instead, he wrote it is “… constancy, stability, steadiness.”
What Patience Is Not
Thompson tells us what patience is not. Patience doesn’t mean we just sit there and do nothing.
True, there is the whole “Be still, and know that I am God! …” verse (Ps. 46: 10 NLT). But God isn’t calling for us to bury our heads in the sand.
Remember, at a minimum, God has called us to watch. Believers must remain alert to keep on guard. We not only have to watch for Satan trying to tempt us, but we also have to watch for Jesus’ return, not knowing when that will be.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
How Does Patience Change Us?
Hamer really wrote a squirrelly sentence. He said disciples are “… stronger and yet more susceptible than he was before.”
Well, think about it. “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold — though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (I Pet. 1: 7 NLT).
God takes us like we are a hunk of gold (yes, that valuable) and gets all the impurities out. We just have to have patience while He is doing that.
But that means we need the trials to light the fire. But remember, Jesus said we would have those.
Making the Connections
God wants us actively pursuing His plan. I loved Thompson saying we needed “the consciousness of a right intent.” We need to be aware of the purpose.
Ooo, baby. Can’t we be more patient when we know the why something is happening? (And don’t we work harder and longer?)
It does give our confidence a boost. Isn’t that what it is all about — our confidence in God?
Well, what is confidence (I know, Dictionary Chick is slow here). Confidence is “a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances
had perfect confidence in her ability to succeed,” “faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way,” “the quality or state of being certain,” and a relation of trust or intimacy” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
Isn’t that what faith is about? Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb. 11: 1 NIV).
We don’t have confidence, we don’t have faith. We don’t have faith, we don’t have patience.
Thompson also said that submission to God is an integral part of patience. When we submit to His leadership and have the confidence that we can stand on His promises, we can have patience.
Patience comes after self-control or temperance. That is logical since self-control is the ability to regulate emotions, thoughts, or behavior. How are we going to have patience if we aren’t in control?
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
I know. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like we can teach ourselves patience. But Williams said it could be attained.
How Do We Apply This?
How?
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.
Specifically, Williams noted study and prayer.
Notice he didn’t just say read. He said study.
“The believer in Scripture who would feed, from its full pages, his faith and knowledge and piety into richer development and greater vigour, must be patient in searching, patient in pondering and comparing, and patient in praying over those sacred lines.”
How many of us just read the textbook in school and nothing else? If there were questions at the end of the chapter, did we do them if they weren’t assigned?
It has to be more than a quick skim.
Williams noted that the end goal was to increase faith, not just increase patience.
What does it take to gain knowledge? Patience.
What does it take to gain faith? Patience.
The progression is getting intertwined, isn’t it? That is because God wants all of us. He will sanctify all of us. Our whole being will be perfected by Him.
Father. You love us so. Because of that, You are growing us to be more like You. Help us to learn patience. Give us the confidence we need to grow in You. Amen.
What do you think?
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