Patience may mean different things to different people; some may see patience as waiting for someone or something without getting Angry! You can also say, patience is having the right to get angry but choosing to understand. While some others will say, patience is waiting for someone or something without complaining! One thing is clear about patience; there is no patience without waiting, self-control or endurance!
As one of the "fruit" of the Spirit, patience can only be grown and developed! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Galatians 5:22
It's part of the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit that grows alongside other " fruit" of the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, wherever Patience is grown and developed other fruit of the spirit will be present. Patience and other "fruit" of the spirit are clusters of fruit. They don't stand alone without each other, as you grow patient, the presence of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness and faithfulness will be inevitable. Developing one is the same thing as developing others!
The life of Christ shows us how patience can be developed. There are different passages in the Bible where we saw how Jesus was very patient with His disciples. The disciples of Jesus were slow in grasping the teachings of Jesus, they exhibited laziness and were selfish, yet Jesus was with them every day until His death on the cross...
Despite Jesus' miracles and words of wisdom, they still doubted who Jesus was. "The other disciples, therefore, said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20:25
To say that all this attitude exhibited by the disciples required patience from Jesus would be an understatement.
We read about Jesus sometimes talking about His disciple's lack of faith but He never complained or got fed up with them. Refusal to complain about His irritating disciples can be described as an exercise of self-control or patience. Surely He would have been justified in hurling insults at them. This makes His self-control even more admirable.
While the patience of Christ is exceptional in many respects, the basic features of this virtue are surely the same wherever it appears. Patience involves such things as self-control and other fruit of the spirit which are themselves virtues. So one might say that patience is a virtue because it's an exercise of several other virtues.
How Patience is developed makes it easier to say that nothing teaches like experience. However, in the process of growing or developing patience, we usually direct it to God or others. Patience that is directed to God has its unique waiting!
Throughout our Christian journey, there are times one must be patient with God. Sometimes we must wait for a need to be met, such as finding a job. Other times, we must wait for the satisfaction of a significant heart desire, like financial freedom, finding a spouse or the blessing of the womb. At other times we wait for God to fulfil a promise, comfort us during a trial or blessed us with a better standard of living. In these cases, we must be patient with God.
On the other hand, patience can also be directed to others, like waiting for your turn in line or traffic. Parenting a child or teenager can require an extraordinary amount of patience. In any case, whether a stranger is in your way or someone is consistently getting on your nerves, you must exhibit some level of self-control or patience.
Interestingly, directing your patience to God and others is the best way to grow and develop your patience. Also, being able to exhibit some level of self-control is a good sign of growing and developing your patience. Developing patience is also developing a precious virtue! Though the process of developing Patience can be challenging, it brings us a special blessing that is only meant for patient people.
As our patience is tested every day, we can hope, increase, and be mindful of the process of sanctification and how God is at work in our challenges! Not forgetting the times that people get on our nerves which are all part of the patient process to make us more like Jesus.
But the word of God has this to say, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance... 1Peter1:3
We must prepare our minds for action! We must be intentional about developing our patience, perhaps by practising spiritual and moral disciplines. Let us focus ever more clearly on the example of Christ and imitate Him in all things, great and small.
As we grow and develop our patience, it will help us not to run ahead of time but to walk with God's timing and keep our confidence in His promises. Sometimes, things may not be clear right away but patience can make it clearer and give you a clearer direction. Patience is a virtue, welcome every opportunity to develop it.
Prayer
"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ (Amen)