Patience

You often hear it said, “Patience is a virtue.” Although it is easy to acknowledge that patience is a spiritual principle to strive for, it is often more difficult to actually practice genuine patience.  In today’s society, we live in a world of instant gratification.  From fast food to modern technology, we are slowly drifting away from the concept of valuing patience and delayed gratification and drifting towards a mentality of immediacy.

Growth takes time and patience.

Although there is certainly some benefit to the convenience of fulfilling basic needs without putting in the time and effort that it has historically taken, it is critical that we analyze the reasons behind the need to take shortcuts.  Growth undoubtedly comes from the process of persevering through trials and tribulations.  “Good things come to those who wait” has also been used over the years to encourage practicing patience.  Especially as Christians, it is important that we pray about our concerns and seek spiritual advice, rather than make impulsive decisions without concern for the consequences of our hastiness.

As Christians, we need to constantly practice patience with others, with ourselves, and with God.  It is easy to get frustrated with people around us, but we have to remember that God created all of us as brothers and sisters in Him, and we all are at different seasons in our lives.  It is also easy to be too hard on oneself, focusing on the negatives only and not giving ourselves credit for our accomplishments.  Taking a moment to appreciate the things we do right gives us the opportunity to be patient with ourselves in our endeavors, to be able to see that growth takes time and patience.

Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Lastly, in order to truly reap the benefits of God’s plan for us, we need to be willing to wait upon God’s response to our prayers. Sometimes God’s answer to us is simply, “Wait.”

Blog Post by: Sarah Warner, MS