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Patience

by Grace Tom-Lawyer  
6/04/2014 / Christian Living

Introduction: Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) and a much desired virtue for us to enjoy our life. It is listed in the second triad of the fruit of the spirit and like any other kind of fruit, it can be developed with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Like Abraham, our faith is usually proved by patience. We will look at patience in relation to God and his promises, patience towards our fellowman and then towards ourselves in these series.
We will consider what patience is, is not, the reasons and the benefits of patience, ways of living patiently and how impatience can manifest in our lives. The overall aim of this study is to ensure that in our daily walk, we allow the Spirit to walk in us to live patiently and expectantly as we become more like Christ and not be subject to the anger, anxiety and frustration that characterizes an impatient soul.

What is Patience?
According to Webster dictionary 1828,patience is defined as "the suffering of affliction, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil with a calm unruffled temper, endurance without murmuring /fretfulness .Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude for a kind of human pride or for Christian submission to the divine will"."The quality of bearing offences and injuries without anger or revenge".
The Greek words makrothumia(pronounced mak-roth-oo-mee-ah) is made of two words makro meaning long and thumos meaning anger, wrath or fierceness which means long tempered {in respect to persons}and hupomone(pronounced hoop-oo-on-ay) consisting of two words hypo meaning under and meno meaning remain ,endure endurance putting up with things or circumstances.{especially related to hope}

Other definitions:
Self restraint which does not hastily retaliate against wrong, is the ability to accept delay or disappointment graciously, Patience is the prayerful attitude that enables a man/woman to remain steadfast under strain and continue pressing on.

Patience is NOT indifference, I don't know, whatever-discuss

Examples of patience: God is our example of patience which He also shows towards all men: Exodus 34:6, 11 Peter 3:9, Jonah 4:2
Christ also as seen in 1 Peter 2:23.Heb 12:2b

Other biblical examples-Job: James 5:10-11 MSG,AMP. Abraham Heb 6:15 NIV

a. Patience towards Gods promises- Faith and patience are prerequisites for obtaining the promises of God. However the instant nature of our society sometimes denies us the maturity to be gained from awaiting the fulfillment of promises. God may seem painfully slow sometimes with some of our legitimate needs such as promotion, a better job, a life partner, healing, children, backslidden or unsaved loved ones, increase in ministry, church growth etc.
Jas 1:2-4 JBP,Gal 6:9

Patience is active 11 Corinthians 10:4-5- discuss

1. Believe in God's love and seek His purpose- James 5:11, Acts 27:25 NLT, Psalms 147:17 NLT
2. Be grateful- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 AMP, Psalms 116:12, 17
3. Recount previous blessings Psalms 103:1-3, Psalms 50:23
4. Keep your confession positive -Psalms 116:10
5. Continue in the word-faith- Roms 8:25 NLT promotion/job-Psalms 75:6 NLT ,children Psalms 113:9 ;life partner Psalms 68:6a,Isaiah 34:14;healing salvation- mention others

"He that believeth shall not make haste" Isaiah 28:16c KJV-Discuss

b.Patience towards our fellow men: The virtue of patience will most certainly spill into our relationships with people and this will show in our kindness as we relate to the weaknesses of others.
It is possible that we are more patient with people who have the kind of weaknesses we do -Discuss

c.Patience with ourselves: We may hate to admit but the truth is there are some areas in our lives that still need to be worked on. The good seeds we have sown will need time before they are ready for harvest.it is a sure sign of progress when we recognize the need for change but change is not usually automatic.
We need to love ourselves to be able to exercise patience towards ourselves-discuss

Patience is a choice Hab 3:16-19

Examples of impatience-Saul 1 Sam 13;6-11; Israelites Num 21:4

Signs of impatience- Compromise, complaining, grumbling, murmuring, debt, overuse of credit cards

Consequences of impatience-worry, high blood pressure etc

Benefits of being patient- maturity Rom 5:4 LB, peace of mind Isa 26:3, allows us to receive and participate in God's love as it builds loyalty and faithfulness Heb 6:15 AMP

Questions:
1. Is impatience a manifestation of pride? Eccles 7:8 NLT
2.How can prayerlessness connected with impatience? i have tried all, guess I should pray now, microwave prayers
3. Is God really slow? 11 Peter 3:9a NIV

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS
Conclusion: God can use circumstances, events to develop our patience and teach us more dependence on him especially in the place of prayer. Patience has to do with attitude which is a reflection of the heart which we should guard jealously with God's word. A promise can provoke initial excitement but it takes faith and patience to receive the manifestation. It is pertinent to remember that God loves us, is omnipotent,is faithful and never late.
We can choose to be patient and not allow ourselves be deceived by the lies of the enemy to doubt God's love ,to hastily try and get things by ourselves or to engage in negative confession and murmuring which signify distrust.
God give me patience but please can you hurry up"

Prayer focus: Ask God to examine our hearts and see if we are really ready for the things we are asking.


APPENDIX:
Exodus 34:6-"God passed in front of him and called out, "God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient-so much love, so deeply true-loyal in love for a thousand generation.."MSG
11 Peter 3:9a-"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness" NIV
11 Peter 3:9a-"The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises," AMP
1 Peter 2:23- "They called him every name in the book and He said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right." MSG
James 5:10-11- "Take the old prophets as your mentors .They put up with anything, went through everything and never once quit,all the time honoring God .What a gift to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail." Italics mine.MSG
Hebrews 6:15 -"And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised" NIV
Hebrews 6:15 "And so it was that he [Abraham] having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him."AMP
Hebrews 6:12- "Then knowing what lies ahead for you,you won't become bored with being a Christian ,nor become spiritually dull and indifferent, but you will be anxious to follow the example of those who receive all that God has promised them because of their strong faith and patience. "LB
Galatians 6:9- "And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up".LB
Romans 5:3-4- "We can rejoice, too when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady." LB
Romans 5:3- "There is more to come :We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with troubles ,because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us ,and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for what God wants to do next." MSG
Romans 8:25- "But if we look forward to something we don't have yet,we must wait patiently and confidently." NLT
Romans 8:25- "But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn't happened yet,it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently." LB
Romans 8:24b,25-".but in our moments of impatience, let us remember that hope always means waiting for something that we haven't yet got.But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience." JBP
Romans 8:25- "That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant woman. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become and the more joyful our expectancy."MSG
James 1:2-4: "When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don't resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends !Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed ,and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence."JBP
James 1:2-4 :"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that your faith is under pressure, your faith life is forced into open and shows its true colours. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely .Let it do its work so that you become mature and well developed ,not deficient in any way." MSG
1 Thessalonians 5:18- "Thank [God] in everything[no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks],for this is the will of God for you[who are]in Christ Jesus[the Revealer and Mediator of that will]"AMP
Acts 27:25- "So take courage! For I believe God .It will be just as he said." NLT
Psalms 116:17- "I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord." NLT
Psalms 75:6-7: "For no one on earth-from east or west, or even from the wilderness- can raise another person up. It is God alone who judges, he decides who will rise and fall." NLT
Psalms 75:6- "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one and setteth up another." KJV

NB-Please note I have underlined some phrases for emphasis.

KEY:
AMP-Amplified Bible
JBP-J.B.Phillips
KJV-King James Version
LB-Living Bible
MSG-The Message
NIV-New International Version
NLT-New Living Translation

Grace Tom-Lawyer is a writer who lives in the United Kingdom and loves to share a message that brings dignity to the lives of people with a passion for the practical application of Biblical truths in everyday living.
2014 Grace Tom-Lawyer. All rights reserved.
wwwflourish.blogspot.co.uk

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