THE POWER OF PATIENCE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

Proverbs 25:15        

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How patient are you?

I have to admit, I consider myself to be one of the more patient people you would ever meet and I think those who know me would tell you the same. But still, there are parts of my life where I need to develop greater patience, particularly when I get behind the wheel of my car. Something bad happens to me when I am on the road, perhaps due to the many years of driving experience I’ve logged through the years. I expect everyone to be attentive and undistracted, to drive in the proper lane according to driving fundamentals we’re all taught at the onset of our driving education. I want people to stop texting and driving, or talking on their cell phone and driving when they’re not supposed to by law. I pray for the day when people can start using their turn signals again to show their intentions.

Through all this, my major problem is revealed. For I am expecting more than reality will bring today and out of my unrealistic expectations is born intolerance and impatience, sins that directly contradict the kind of person the Lord wants me to be.

Maybe you can relate. I say this because I think we all could stand to improve when it comes to the matter of patience. Thank goodness it is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians, Chapter 5:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (aka patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

Yes, praise the Lord for His holy word that often writes prescriptions for us to deal with the sin afflictions we struggle with in life. In this case, the prescription is written for impatience and we are to take in consistent doses of the Holy Spirit in order to overcome it and return to full health where we will show forbearance and tolerance toward others.

It’s true, isn’t it? When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, then essentially we are submitting to Jesus leading us onto the narrow path He has encouraged us to walk upon (Matthew 7:13-14), a path that is paved with righteousness and lined with trees brimming with the fruits of the Spirit. Walk with the Holy Spirit and you will exhibit copious amounts of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, and, of course, patience. All these fruits lead us to be spiritually healthy as we’re infused with Vitamin “C” (for Christ) and allow ourselves to take in the values and principles which conform us more in His image.  

In a single verse from Proverbs, Chapter 25, Solomon shows us what we have to gain when we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us to a place of patience. Look at his words:

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. Proverbs 25:15

What is the word of the Lord trying to teach us today regarding the power of patience?

There are two distinct areas of instruction.

First, we’re being taught that patience can be powerful when it comes to influencing others.

Having been a senior command leader in the Navy for many, many years, I can tell you there were more times than I can count when I needed to talk to my superior about matters I thought were important for us to get done and in a certain way. Often, I knew going in that it might be difficult to persuade him to agree with my point of view. Through my many experiences, I have to say I was very skilled at getting what I wanted when I wanted it but it wasn’t due to the fact that I had the gift of persuasion as much as it was because I was patient. Many times, I had to wait to talk about it when the timing was right and when my superior’s mood was in the right place. Timing can be everything sometimes, you know. Still other times, I had to patiently wait for him or her to think matters over before we could arrive at a decision. Pressing the matter too hard would have resulted in me not getting the outcome I looked for and so I learned to wait and wait patiently for things to work out. Many more times than not, they did and it was fully due to the power of patience.

The second point of instruction from Solomon’s words of wisdom comes in teaching us the importance of patience when dealing with others. Sometimes people think that to win a verbal battle with someone you need to match the other person’s intensity and volume. Maybe that’s why disputes are referred to as a “war of words” as verbal combatants try to win over the other through their speaking.

What I have learned in life is that if you want to deescalate a discussion with someone then make yourself less threatening. It’s just hard to yell at someone who is not willing to yell back, not willing to match volume and bravado with more volume and bravado. God’s word spoken through Solomon is truth. Speak gently and you can quell even the most agitated person and bring them down to a place where resolution and reconciliation abide. 

Remember those fruits of the Spirit? Wasn’t gentleness one of them? Do you see where the fruits can be used in tandem to God’s glory?

For your words won’t really break a bone but they may break an attitude of anger or dissatisfaction or disagreement. And if that happens, we need to know that it wasn’t of our doing but of the Holy Spirit as they worked in the heart of the person we’re dealing with.

Yes, there is indeed power in patience as there is with all the fruits of the Spirit. Given that we are all works in progress with a lot to do when it comes to being the people the Lord wants us to be, shouldn’t we be seeking every day to feed ourselves spiritually with the fruits He longs to nourish us with?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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