“Lord, give me patience . . . and I need it now . . . if not sooner!” Have you ever prayed that prayer? Or needed to? Patience – like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is one of the traits of a person who has godly character. It closely resembles joy and peace in its effect upon our lives. The English word patience actually stands for several different Greek words in the New Testament.
The author of the following brief poem dealing with patience is unknown:
“Patience is a virtue,
Possess it if you can.
Found seldom in a woman,
And never in a man.”
One aspect of patience involves enduring abuse. The biblical response to suffering at the hands of others is called longsuffering in the King James Version. It describes the ability to suffer a long time under the mistreatment of others without growing resentful or bitter. Mistreatment by others can include ridicule, scorn, insults, and undeserved rebukes, as well as outright persecution. God calls upon every Christian to react to these things with longsuffering. Without God’s help, this is somewhere between very difficult and impossible.
How can Christians react to abuse with longsuffering? First, we must look at the way Jesus responded to mistreatment. When insults were hurled at Him, He did not retaliate. To develop patience when we are mistreated, we should entrust ourselves to God’s justice and commit ourselves to His faithfulness. God will deal not only in justice (and we pray, in mercy) with our tormentor, but also by being faithful to us.
Thus, to respond to provocation with patience is to emulate God Himself. God describes Himself as “slow to anger . . . forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). The key to having patience when mistreatment by others causes us suffering is to seek to develop in our own lives God’s trait of being “slow to anger.” We begin by confessing our impatience to God in prayer. We must also not be discouraged when we fail. Proverbs 24:16 reminds us: “No matter how often an honest man fails, he always gets up again . . .”
One of the times when most of us find it easy to become impatient is when we are confronted with the faults and failures of others. It may be a driver in front of us driving slowly, or a friend who is late to an appointment, or a neighbor who is inconsiderate in a particular way. Impatience with the shortcomings of others often has its roots in pride. John Sanderson observes, “Hardly a day passes but one hears sneering remarks about the stupidity, the awkwardness, and the ineptitude of others.” Such remarks stem from a feeling that those who say them believe they are smarter or more capable than those with whom they are impatient.
The Bible associates forbearance or tolerance with love, the unity of the believers, and the forgiveness of Christ (see Ephesians 4:2-3). Apostle Paul reminds us that we are to bear with one another in order to preserve the “unity of the Spirit,” and that “the members of the body of Christ belong to each other” (Romans 12:5). The fruit of patience in all its aspects – longsuffering, forbearance, endurance, and perseverance – is the result of genuine devotion to God.
Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. Who, among us, does not need to be more patient? If you possess patience, it will strengthen your spirit, sweeten your temper, stifle your anger, subdue your pride, bridle your tongue, and glorify God.
The Paper Pulpit 
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