Learning To Be Patient

Fruit of The Spirit: Part 5
Learning To Be Patient

Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB) But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient…”

We spend so much of our life waiting…

• … for an answer,
• … for a person to change,
• … for ourselves to grow,
• … for God to do something we cannot do.

“Patience is trusting God enough to keep loving, keep obeying, and not forcing outcomes.”

1. I need to be patient with myself.

Romans 8:28-29a (NLT)

• Why am I still struggling with this?
• Why do I keep making the same mistakes?
• Why does it seem like everyone else is ahead of me?

“Sometimes we expect instant maturity from a life God is patiently transforming.”

Romans 12:12 (NLT)

2. I need to be patient with others.

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NIV)

“Patience changes how we respond to aggravating situations.”

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)

• The interruption when you are already tired.
• The co-worker who doesn’t work at your pace.
• The family member who keeps making the same mistakes.
• The persons whose opinions irritate you.
• The child who needs the same instructions again.

“Patience creates space between what someone does and how I respond.”

3. I need to be patient with God.

Psalms 37:7a (NIV)

“We need to trust God’s character when we cannot understand his timing.”

• Why has this prayer not been answered?
• Why does injustice seem to continue?
• Why has the door not been opened?
• Why is healing or reconciliation taking so long?

Waiting becomes especially difficult when we mistake God’s silence for God’s absence.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

What are we to do while we are waiting for God to answer our prayers?

• Keep praying honestly. You don’t have to act like everything is okay.
• Keep doing the good already in front of you.
• Seek wise counsel.
• Refuse shortcuts that require disobedience.
• Leave room for God’s answer to be different from your preferred answer.

The good news is not simply that God commands us to be more patient. The good news is that Jesus has been patient with people who learn slowly, fail repeatedly, and need to hear the truth again.

1. Where do I need to keep growing without giving up on myself?
2. Who specifically do I need to be more patient with?
3. What am I trying to force right now instead of trusting God?