Galatians 5:22,23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The next fruit of the Spirit is patience. These have to be of the Spirit as patience is very unnatural to people. Traffic is a great example of this. We get frustrated to wait in it. We want short cuts.
I think of the Prodigal's father, how he would look out on the road for the sons return. Such a great picture of God. He seeks the return of His children. He waits their whole lives and can still not have them turn to Him. He will alter circumstances in an attempt to deter us to Him. He could create a life earthquake of a shocking magnitude to get one's attention, but He respects people's choices. Yet in all this He waits patiently.
God seeks to instill patience within us. We are to be Christlike in all ways. The way this is done is to be in situations that require patience. While there we ask for help. He engineers resolutions and in the process we find ourselves a little more patient.
These situations requiring patience can produce a claustrophobic sense which has us crazy to get out. God wants to help us with that. Part of the solution is where we put our focus. It shouldn't be on the situation. Some things need time to be resolved. Like traffic, we have to occupy our minds on other things. We've all seen frustrated drivers wildly weaving to the street's shoulders and illegally speeding ahead.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ". We need to put aside the childish expectation of an instant resolution. When stuck in traffic we usually need to wait it out.
Where do we place our thoughts? Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
One of the greatest acts of love is patience. Such power is held at that time. An individual is at a vulnerable moment, we could offer grace and patience or choose the bitter path of judgement. Jesus gave the parable of the unforgiving servant. He was to be thrown in prison to pay an enormous debt. His creditor forgave him. However, once forgiven, he stumbled upon someone indebted to him. Unfortunately he didn't pass on grace, but had that one thrown in jail. The original creditor heard of this and had him arrested (Matthew 18:21-35).
This parable illustrates the blindness we can have. A forgiven one can miss opportunities to forgive. Part of our prayers should contain the request for sight. David said this in Psalm 119:18 says, "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things from Thy Law." We have many blindspots. We should always offer patience as we've been forgiven a great debt.
People respond to patience. Some have experienced it, while many haven't. It's like a beaten child who expects to get hit. After flinching they realize that no punishment is coming. That revelation might stay with them for days. It will cause them to ponder the reasons. It's like the unraveling of PTSD, these see that the repeat of the trauma isn't there. An area of safety gets carved out. Sometimes gratitude is present, other times the wounded one now has the safety to act out. That's ok, let the leash out. They are finally safe to work through their difficulties.
God is the prime forgiver. Patience starts there. It's like the beginning of a river. It eventually turns into a mighty water source which touches many. The Trinity expresses much patience, grace and mercy. May we be transmitters of the same.
Lord, thank You for Your patience. May we pass it on as we've received it.