Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Patience

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no
law. Galatians 5:22-23

Ahh, Patience... this is something that I really have struggled with for a long time. Being the oldest of five can sometimes bring out of me those attitudes that are less than patient...

I was thinking about a verse I read this morning saying we must act like Christ (paraphrased), and at the same time I was remembering that I had to write this post on patience. I know that if patience is one of the fruit, then it must be important but as I was thinking on it, I realized that Jesus had sooo much patience with so many people.

Take, for instance, when Thomas doubted Him. He didn’t tell him “Believe!” or something like that (He certainly could have), but instead, He patiently answered all of His questions and showed Him His scars. Also, I’m sure as Jesus was teaching, there were those people who we’ve all seen that don’t pay attention or just simply don’t obey what’s taught to them. In no place of the Bible do we read that He got angry at the people for not listening/obeying. Instead, he was patient with them as He taught.

Here’s another example: So many times we mess up and disobey God, yet, He still is patient with us and doesn’t abandon us. He is patient when we make wrong choices or are trying to fix our relationship with Him. He could force us to spend time with him or even punish us if we simply didn’t have the desire to, but instead, He chose to give us a free will and patiently wait for us to come to Him. He is a patient Father. I know my father is really patient with me in a lot of things, and when I think that God’s patience is bigger and greater then my father’s ever can be, I’m completely awed... and it makes me want to practice patience with my siblings. :)

Patience is a virtue that is so important to learn and put into practice early in life. It’s something that we’ll need our entire lives. Think of it, now we need it with our siblings, friends, and even parents. In the future, we’ll need it with our boss, spouse, children, friends and authority. It’s something that we truly have an opportunity to practice every day. I really have seen God work in my life in the area of patience lately. In the past few months, I’ve been more conscious and strived to work in that area and by the grace of God, I’ve gotten a lot better (but I still could use some work ;) ).

In what ways have you practiced patience and do you have any suggestions how to get better at it? I'd really love to hear your thoughts and try to put them into practice! :)

4 comments:

  1. Short story: I routinely work at Life Action family during the summer. I worked eight hours a day, between three shifts, washing dishes. The kitchen staff is all teenagers, and the teens get tired quickly. Let's just say some people can get cranky or crazy. I knew I needed to be strong and have a good attitude, so the guys in my cabin prayed that I would have patience one night. The next day, a girl dropped over a dozen freshly cleaned dishes, during the busiest time of the shift. I wasn't overjoyed about this, but I tried to be patience and smile it off. Later, the girl told a guy in my cabin how patient I had been. She said, "I think he just wanted to explode, but he didn't! He was really patient with me!" The guys had a good laugh that night in our cabin. So there's my story!

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  2. A way that one could better patience and many other things is to memorize scripture according to the challenge one faces. The act of memorization does help a little in the fact that it affirms ones position of what should be done. But as you go on and you are facing a situation that has to do with the verse that you memorized, its amazing how God can rush that into your head!! Its happened to me that I'll be in a difficult position and that certain verse pops up! Having God's word in your memory is a great tool when living a life for Christ.

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  3. Awesome post Sophie!

    I can really relate to your sibling situation. Many times its really hard to keep having a patient attitude when all the sibs are running and screaming around!

    Growing in patience has been a slow, but steady, process for me. There hasn't been a "kaboom!" Moment, but God has helped me all the time. One thing that really helps me to grow in patience is thinking about how my future will be affected. Asking myself questions like "Is it worth it in the end?" Or "How will I ever grow up if I can't control my emotions?" are questions that make me rethink if getting angry, or impatient is worth it.

    -Jerry

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  4. LoVizzle:
    That's awesome! :) and I'm sure when you hear such encouragement, it makes you want to continue working on your patience (even if it does make you laugh in the first place! Haha).

    Joseph:
    Wow, that's such a great idea! I have experienced that in other areas of my life, but I haven't ever tried to do it for this. I'm so going to try it! That truly is a great way because those verses won't only come in handy during times that I'm lacking a bit of patience, but during a whole lot of other situtuons as well! Thanks! :)

    Jerry:
    I had never thought of asking myself questions like those. Thats a great idea as well! I'm going to remember that... I think that as older siblings, we actually have an advantage for learning patience as there are sooo many opportunities in the day to try it. (or of course, the opportunely may not be used correctly and we end up not doing anything to control it). That's great, though, that you've been steadily getting better in learning patience! :)

    Thanks you guys for all the suggestions! :)

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