The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is patience?
Patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. It is the ability to endure difficult circumstances or wait without complaining. Patience is an important Christian virtue that all believers should cultivate. Here is an in-depth look at what the Bible teaches about patience.
Definition of Patience
The Greek word translated “patience” in Galatians 5:22 is hupomoné, which means steadfastness, constancy, and endurance in the face of trials and difficulties. It involves both perseverance when enduring difficult circumstances and restraint when provoked. J.I. Packer describes patience as “a self-restraint that does not hastily retaliate against wrong.”
Patience also involves waiting quietly and expectantly for God’s promises. As Hebrews 6:12 says, “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Believers are called to wait with hope and trust that God will act, rather than give in to discouragement, doubt or frustration.
Patience is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Paul lists patience as one of the fruits that the Holy Spirit produces in the lives of believers (Galatians 5:22-23). Since it is a fruit of the Spirit, patience is not something we can manufacture or conjure up on our own. It flows from our relationship with God and reliance on His power. As we walk in the Spirit and submit to His work in our hearts, the Spirit transforms us and enables us to grow in patience.
The Holy Spirit helps us cultivate patience in the following ways:
– Gives us hope – Romans 15:4 says “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Our hope is rooted in God’s promises and the life He has planned for us. This eternal perspective enables us to patiently endure present troubles.
– Produces perseverance – Romans 5:3-4 teaches that perseverance is produced through suffering. As we rely on the Spirit’s power in the midst of difficulties, our character and capacity for patience is strengthened.
– Empowers us to wait – Isaiah 40:31 promises that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” As we wait on the Lord, the Holy Spirit renews our inner strength.
– Intercedes for us – Romans 8:26 tells us “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” When we lack patience, the Holy Spirit prays for us according to God’s perfect will.
As we yield to the Spirit’s work in our lives, patient endurance should characterize our lives and relationships. The fruit of patience comes from God, not ourselves. We cannot manufacture it through sheer willpower, so we must rely on the Spirit’s enabling.
Patience in Difficult Circumstances
The Bible encourages believers to demonstrate patience in the midst of painful circumstances and “count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). We can have patience and joy in difficulties because of our hope and trust in God’s purposes. Romans 5:3-4 teaches that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character.” As we patiently endure, our character is refined to be more like Christ.
Here are some key areas where Scripture instructs us to be patient in difficult circumstances:
– Suffering – 1 Peter 2:19-20 exhorts servants to be patient and endure unjust suffering, because “this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” When we suffer, we are called to be patient like Christ who endured unjust suffering without retaliation.
– Persecution – 2 Thessalonians 1:4 boasts of the Thessalonian church’s “steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.” Believers should respond to persecution with patient endurance and faith.
– Hardship – James 5:7-8 urges believers to “be patient until the coming of the Lord” even in the midst of hard circumstances. As farmers wait patiently for crops to grow, we are to wait patiently in hardship for God’s purposes.
– Provocation – 1 Thessalonians 5:14 instructs us to “be patient with them all” when dealing with those who provoke us. Instead of lashing out in anger, we can exercise restraint and patience.
– Weakness – Hebrews 12:3 reminds us to consider Jesus who “endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” When we feel too weak to be patient, we should remember Christ’s patient endurance.
– Injustice – 1 Peter 3:8-9 exhorts, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.” Rather than impatiently taking revenge, we can exercise patience and bless those who wrong us.
In every difficulty, we can choose patience knowing that God uses trials for our maturity and eternal reward. We also have the Spirit’s supernatural help to empower us to endure.
Patience in Waiting on God
In addition to enduring difficult circumstances, biblical patience also involves waiting quietly and confidently for God’s perfect timing and will. Rather than rushing ahead or seeking to manipulate outcomes, we must trust God to act and fulfill His promises on His timetable. Psalm 37:7 instructs, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”
Here are some areas Scripture urges us to patiently wait for God:
– Answered Prayer – Psalm 40:1 proclaims, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” Rather than doubting or giving up on unanswered prayers, we should keep waiting patiently for God’s answer and timing.
– Vindication – Psalm 37:7-8 says, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.” Instead of impatiently taking revenge, wait confidently for God to vindicate.
– Salvation – Lamentations 3:25-26 declares, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Wait patiently on the Lord for salvation rather than striving in your own strength.
– Fruitfulness – Luke 8:15 describes those “who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Patience is required to become deeply rooted and bear lasting spiritual fruit.
– Eternal Reward – Hebrews 6:12 exhorts, “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” God’s eternal rewards are worth waiting patiently for.
Rather than trying to force outcomes, we must cultivate patience and trust God’s perfect will and timing. By patiently waiting on the Lord, we demonstrate faith in His sovereignty and reliance on His power.
Importance of Patience
Patience is a vital Christian virtue that believers should earnestly pursue. Scripture emphasizes the great value and blessings of patience. Here are some reasons why patience is so important:
– Produces maturity – James 1:4 declares, “Let patience have its full effect, that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” As patience does its work, it produces Christlike maturity and wholeness.
– Manifests true hope – Romans 8:25 teaches that “if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Patience demonstrates our firm hope and confidence in God’s yet unseen promises.
– Stewards trials for growth – Romans 5:3 says, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” Patience helps us stewards trials for growth instead of wasting them through complaining.
– Inherits God’s promises – Hebrews 6:12 explains the godly inherit God’s promises through faith and patience, not through fear or impatience. Patience is key to receive these blessings.
– Bears fruit for God – Luke 8:15 links patience and fruitfulness. Without patience, our character will not take root, and we’ll bear little eternal fruit.
– Brings God’s favor – Hebrews 6:10 assures us, “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints.” Our patience and endurance delights God.
– Leads to blessing – James 5:11 encourages, “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.” Steadfast patience leads to God’s blessing.
– Glorifies God – Job 1:21-22 records how Job patiently endured loss, saying “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” His patience brought glory to God.
Patience should be highly valued because it leads to maturation, fruitfulness and the fulfillment of God’s purposes in our lives.
How to Grow in Patience
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, not something we can manufacture ourselves. How then can believers cultivate this Christlike patience? Scripture gives several practical tips:
– Abide in Christ – John 15:4-5 teaches we must abide in Christ to bear fruit. Through intimacy with Jesus, we gain access to the Holy Spirit’s patience.
– Ask for patience – James 1:5 instructs, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.” We can directly ask God for patience and the grace to endure.
– Give thanks – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Thanking God in trials engenders patience.
– Wait on the Lord – Isaiah 40:31 promises, “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” Actively waiting on the Lord renews our patience.
– Look to Jesus’ example – Hebrews 12:2-3 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus and His patient endurance in suffering. This motivates us to endure like Him.
– Rely on God’s strength – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” In weakness, rely on Christ’s strength.
– Reflect on God’s patience – 2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness.” Remembering God’s endless patience with us inspires patience.
As we prayerfully meditate on Scripture, look to Christ, and rely on the Spirit, patience should increasingly characterize our lives and relationships.
Bible Examples of Patience
Many biblical figures stand out as examples of patience for believers to emulate. Here are some of the godly men and women commended in Scripture for exemplifying patience:
– Job: James 5:11 upholds Job as an example of patience and endurance under immense suffering. He lost everything yet worshipped God saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
– Abraham: Romans 4:18-21 describes how Abraham patiently endured and waited decades for God’s promise of a son in his old age. His hope was undeterred because it was fixed on God’s faithfulness.
– David: Though Saul relentlessly pursued him, David patiently spared Saul’s life twice when he had opportunity to kill him. He waited for God’s timing and way to become king (1 Samuel 24, 26).
– Moses: Numbers 12:3 states, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” His meekness enabled him to patiently shepherd Israel despite great provocation.
– Jesus: Isaiah 53:7 prophesies Christ would be “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Jesus perfectly modeled patience through suffering.
– Paul: 2 Corinthians 6:4 speaks of “great endurance” as distinguishing Paul’s ministry. Despite immense suffering, he patiently endured for the sake of the gospel.
When beset by impatience, we would do well to reflect on giants of the faith like Abraham, David and Paul who provide inspiring examples of patient endurance.
Warnings About Impatience
In contrast to the blessings of patience, Scripture warns of the dangers of an impatient spirit. Here are some pitfalls of impatience believers should avoid:
– Assumes God is not good or just – The people of Israel were impatient for water and grumbled against Moses saying “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Exodus 17:3). Their impatience revealed a fundamental distrust in God’s goodness.
– Leads to rash decisions – When God delayed in punishing wicked men, Asaph struggled with impatience and complained, “All in vain have I kept my heart clean” (Psalm 73:13). His impatience almost caused him to abandon God.
– Causes frustration and anxiety – Jesus described seeds sown on rocky ground as representing those who “when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away” (Matthew 13:21). These believer’s impatience prohibits roots from going deep and bearing fruit.
– Destroys relationships – Proverbs 14:29 warns, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” Impatience leads to outbursts of anger that damage relationships.
– Sends wrong message to others – Colossians 3:12 instructs, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Impatience misrepresents Christ to the unbelieving world.
– Reveals lack of trust in God – Isaiah 28:16 quotes God declaring, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone…Whoever believes will not be in haste.” Impatience exposes our failure to rest in God’s promises.
Rather than rushing ahead of God or insisting on our own way, we should cultivate patience and trust as we wait on His perfect will and timing.
In conclusion, patience is a precious fruit of the Spirit that believers should earnestly pursue. Through patient endurance, we reveal our trust in God’s goodness, inherit His promises and become more Christlike. Patience comes not through human effort but through relying on the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. As we abide in Christ, we gain access to His supernatural patience which enables us to endure any trial or delay. Just as Job, Abraham and David persevered by faith, so must we wait quietly and confidently on the Lord, assured of His perfect faithfulness.