Patience……What a Hard Lesson to Learn!

1st Colossians 1:11-12 “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”



While I have been a believer in Christ for over 36 years, the past 7 years seem to have been filled with many more opportunities for my wife and I to develop patience, and truly understand what it means to wait on God’s timing.

We have certainly not arrived, but through our circumstances and trials, I believe we are better at waiting on God than we were yesterday. We are learning to truly understand that God is faithful, and even though our circumstances may remain the same, we are learning to place our hope fully in Him, give him our own expectations Proverbs 10:28 and wait on His plan for our lives, which is to prosper us and not harm us. Jeremiah 29:11



Even overlooking an offense is part of attaining the wisdom of patience. “A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” Proverbs 19:11. The Message translates this passage to say, “Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget.” Solomon went on to say, “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone” Proverbs 25:15. Have you been offended of late and given the opportunity to hold your tongue, be gentle, be patient and wait on God?



Paul certainly understood the need for patience when he pleaded with the people of his day to, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” “Forgive as the Lord forgave you”

Colossians 3:11-13. To actually clothe ourselves with patience is quite a task, and one that can not ever be accomplished very long, in our own strength. No matter how strong willed you are, if you do not engraft into Christ daily, then eventually you will break and become anxious!

He also gave this charge to Timothy and reminded him of God’s faithfulness. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them” 2 Timothy 3:9-11.

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” 2 Timothy 4:2. Be prepared to share the light of Christ with everyone, even when they are testing you, which can only come through the attainment of Christ’s great patience!

And while testing is used in all of our lives to enhance our character, I believe that we cause a lot of our own problems, by opening the door to many troubles through a lack of prayer covering. We need to pray constantly about everything, (even the little things), as we have an adversary who desires to ruin our character, steal and devour our joy and destroy our testimony, whenever we allow him to. 1 Peter 5:8



And finally James reminded us that we are to be patient as the farmer who must wait on the rains to produce a good crop.

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains” James 5:7.

God is teaching us all patience during the dry times in our lives. It is good to be remindful of the fact that God is always more interested in the developing and shaping of our character than He is in our circumstances.



Lord, Thank You for being so patient with us and loving us so much! Help us to stay engrafted in You, so we can have Your patience and wait upon the good plans You have for us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Have another powerful and prosperous day of fleshing out God’s patience in the workplace and at home!