Patience Doesn’t Grow on Trees

Patience doesn’t grow on trees. It grows like a tree though. Long. Slow. Inch by inch. Patience is a virtue worth cultivating though. It demonstrates grace and compassion. Not only so, but our God is a patient God—compassionate and gracious, slow to anger.

We live in a world where the virtue of patience is a rare occurrence. Everything is immediately accessible and the concept of waiting alludes us. However, as Christians, we are called not only to lead a life of patience, but also of other elements of a Godly character, which we see in Galatians 5 in the fruit of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

I’d like to dive into this concept of patience, reimagine it, and reframe it from the way we grumblingly think of this vital topic. 

I feel that there are three areas where we see patience show its face in our lives: patience with others, with God, and with ourselves. As we explore this topic of patience, we will discuss it in these three areas. 

Let’s get a general understanding of what I mean by these categories. 

Patience with others is what we most commonly think of regarding patience. As humans living the human experience, we know that patience can be tested pretty often, especially in our interactions with other people. This involves everyday experiences such as waiting in line for your coffee in the morning, or trying to calm your road rage when you’re driving, or that person at work or in your class that just really gets on your nerves. The simple everyday occurrences that really test our patience.

Patience with God can show up in our lives in a few different ways. We see this when we pray and want an answer immediately, but we have to wait instead. Or maybe there’s a certain door that you want opened in your life but it just won’t open. This could be something you haven’t experienced in its full capacity yet with God. Whether you have or haven’t, I’m sure there will come a day where your patience with God will be tested.

Patience with ourselves This is one we may not think about too often, or it may not even be on our radar, but I’m sure if we thought about it, evidence of us being impatient with ourselves would show up. This could be when we set expectations for ourselves that we can’t meet. Or maybe you expect yourself to be in a certain place in life right now and you’re not there, and you can be pretty hard on yourself because of that. Whatever the case may be, I feel that we are impatient with ourselves more often than we think. 

You may be feeling the reality and the heaviness of patience now that we’ve defined it in different areas of our lives. I know that patience can be a heavy topic; I feel like patience is one of those things that inevitably cuts deep into who we are, and that’s why it’s so crucial to dive into. We’re going to dive in today because if we allow God to work and the Spirit to move in these areas of ourselves that might be insecure, that gives space for the Spirit to cultivate patience within us.

Now that we’ve set the foundation, I want to examine two truths in each of the contexts that we just discussed.

But you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.

Think of it as an exercise in patience.

See you then!

Thank you for allowing us to serve and encourage you today. If “Patience Doesn’t Grow on Trees” was encouraging or insightful for you in any way, please let us know and consider sharing it with someone else.

Author:

Haleigh

Hello, friends! My name is Haleigh! I am studying Pastoral Ministry at Bethel University. One of the most prominent passions in my life is women’s ministry. I have such a heart for women and helping them see how God created us for such an intentional purpose. Read more of my writing here.

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