I don't know about you but patience is not my strong suit. Nevertheless, it is an attribute that God wants to develop in my life. 2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV) tells me to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”
We continue our series through ht e Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV) “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
In the Bible there are TWO WORDS THAT DEFINE PATIENCE
#1 Hupomone (hoop·om·on·ay) = Endurance in respect to situations.
#2 Makrothumia (mak·roth·oo·mee·ah) = Tolerance in respect to persons
The first one, Hupomone, (translated "perseverance" in in the NIV) is found in James 5:11, “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
New England preacher Phillips Brooks was noted for his calm and quiet demeanor. At times, however, he suffered (like the rest of us) from moments of frustration and irritability. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion and asked him, “What’s the trouble?” Brooks said, “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”
We can all relate to that! We hate to wait and the longer we are made to wait the more we wonder if the wait will be worth it. It’s hard to wait—but waiting really is worth it.
James 1:2-4 (NKJV) “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
The second word, Makrothumia, is the form of PATIENCE that is used in the Fruit of the Spirit.
The word is actually two words in the Greek: Macro (Big) Thumos (Heat)—(BIG HEAT)— It is the idea of taking A LONG TIME to heat up. Sometimes translated “long-suffering”--It means to have a long fuse. It’s the opposite of having a SHORT temper.
The Spirit of God supernaturally works within us (if we are yielded to Him) to produce this characteristic. I know personally, without the Holy Spirit, I am incapable of doing what Luke 6:27–31 says to do, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Psalm 103:8–11 (LB) “He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; He is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for His mercy toward those who fear and honor Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.”
Aren’t you grateful for God’s Patience?! That’s the thing about patience...we like it when we are given it but hate to personally practice it. However, it is in our practice of patience that we demonstrate God’s love to a watching world! If you allow it to, enduring difficult situations and tolerating difficult people will actually help to increase your awarness of God’s amazing patience toward you.
What we may not realize is that sometimes the person we most want God to remove from our lives is the very person we need the most! God may have actually placed them in your life to do something in you and through you that could not take place if they weren’t there.
Pray for the difficult people in your life (anger and honest prayer will not co-exist together very long). Stop avoiding them and begin to strategically look at them. Ask God to show you what He wants you to learn from them and the situation. One of the most distinguishing marks of a follower of Christ is the love we show for those we would not or could not love on our own.
We love because He first loved us and we are patient with them because God is so patient with us!
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