Taken from the HelpFinder Bible
If you’ve ever spent two hours stuck in traffic or held a crying baby at 2:00 a.m., you know something about patience. According to the Bible, patience is a form of perseverance that allows us to respond to frustrating circumstances with grace and self-control. Contrary to popular opinion, patience is not merely a personality trait but instead is a byproduct of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about growing in patience.
How can I grow in patience?
• JAMES 5:7 | Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
Whether you’re waiting for crops to ripen, a traffic jam to unsnarl, a child to mature, or God to perfect you, you can grow in patience by recognizing that these things take time and there is only so much you can do to speed them up. A key to understanding God’s will is to understand God’s timing.
• EXODUS 5:22 | Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “. . . Why did you send me?”
Focusing less on your agenda and more on God’s agenda for you will provide a big picture perspective and help you be more patient.
• PSALM 40:1 | I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
Prayer is a necessary tool in developing your patience and giving you God’s perspective on your situation.
• HABAKKUK 2:3 | “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”
Patience can actually give you an attitude of anticipation for each new day. If God is going to do what is best for you, then his plan for you will be accomplished on his schedule, not yours. Keeping that in mind, you can actually become excited about waiting for him to act, anticipating what good thing he will work in your life that is just right for you at the present time.
• GALATIANS 5:22 | But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience.
The more you let the Holy Spirit fill and inspire you, the more patient you will become. All fruit takes time to grow and mature, including the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
• 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4 | Love is patient and kind.
Patience is one of the evidences of love.
• ROMANS 8:25 | But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
Patience is produced by the hope a believer has in God’s plans, especially his eternal plans. When your long-range future is totally secure, you can be more patient with today’s frustrations.
• 2 TIMOTHY 2:24 | A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.
God develops patience in you through your relationship with others. Abrasive relationships teach you to patiently endure. Even in loving relationships patience is necessary.
• ROMANS 5:3-4 | We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
God uses life’s circumstances to develop your patience. You can’t always choose the circumstances that come your way, but you can choose how you will respond to them.