Is patience really worth working for?

Romans 15:5May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

Galatians 5:22-23The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Colossians 1:11We 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,

Patience leads to harmony with others, endurance to handle difficult circumstances, and an expectant attitude of hope that things will get better. It is built on the foundation of trust in God’s providence and power. It demonstrates a thoughtful and careful attitude toward others’ feelings. Anyone can be patient, but there is a higher level of patience that comes from God through his Holy Spirit’s presence and work in our lives.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Ephesians 4:2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

Patience is a characteristic of love. The more loving you become, the more you will model the nature of God in your life. God is the perfect example of patience. That patience will be tested and grow under the pressure of relating to other people. Every day we fail to measure up to his perfect standard of patience, yet God is slow to get angry and loves us unconditionally.

Proverbs 16:32Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.

Hebrews 10:36Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

James 1:2-4Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Patience is evidence of strong character, forged in the crucible of relationships and challenges. As you pass each test of your faith, you will build a higher degree of patience for when you are tested again.

Psalm 5:2Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you.

Isaiah 8:17I will wait for the Lord, who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in him.

Lamentations 3:24, 26I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” . . . So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

James 5:7-8Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. 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. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Patience is an important part of faith and hope. It is a bi-product of reliance on God. The greater your hope, the more you patiently wait, and the more your faith grows.

Genesis 29:20-21, 25, 27-28So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” . . . But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” . . . “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” So Jacob agreed to work seven more years.

Patience is the key to achieving many goals. Achieving goals is rarely done with a quantum leap, but rather by small footsteps.

2 Thessalonians 1:4-5We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.

Patience is the key to enduring suffering. Suffering is better endured when patiently endured.

Colossians 3:12Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

God’s love and work in our daily lives often produces patience. It must be practiced before it becomes our practice.