Today I want to talk about a very important topic. What makes it important is that God thinks highly of it and we all seem not to have it. The topic is PATIENCE. In the bible it is sometimes referred to as long suffering, steadfastness, perseverance or just wait. The Greek words used in the New Testament to refer to patience is Hypomone and Makrothymia.
What is patience? The bible says in Gal 5:22 that patience is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 (ESVST)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
So, when you receive the Holy Spirit, one of the fruits to show that you have received the Holy Spirit is patience. It is not a gift of the Holy Spirit but proof that will show that you indeed received the Spirit. The bible continues to say that patience is developed under trials. The more trials or hardships you go through, the more patience you built up:
Romans 5:3 (AMP)
Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.
The bible also say that this patience is commanded. It is one of the commandments of the new covenant of Jesus Christ. As Christians, just like Jesus, we must have patience:
Ephesians 4:1-2 (ESVST)
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
The bible also says that this patience or having patience is commendable or is a good thing:
Ecclesiastes 7:8 (ESVST)
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
So patience is the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is developed under trails, is commanded and is commendable.
Patience alone is not good enough for a Christian or believer. The bible says that patience must be accompanied by Faith 2 Thes 1:4, Godliness 2 Pet 1:6, Joyfulness and Long suffering Col 1:11 and Self Control 2 Pet 1:6
What must we as believers do? Well we must pursue patience:
1 Timothy 6:11 (AMP)
But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.
We must pursue patience because our God is also a God of patience:
Romans 15:5 (AMP)
Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
We must also be very patient when we go through suffering, trials or hardships:
James 5:7-8 (ESVST)
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Patience is one of the most important qualities to have as a believer:
2 Peter 1:5-6 (AMP)
For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), 6 And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self- control, and in [exercising] self- control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
By having great patience, we commend ourselves as servants of God:
2 Corinthians 6:4 (AMP)
But we commend ourselves in every way as [true] servants of God:through great endurance, in tribulation and suffering, in hardships and privations, in sore straits and calamities,
So, therefore, even when we pray and ask God for anything, we must have patience. We must wait for God:
Psalms 37:7 (AMP)
Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Psalms 40:1 (AMP)
I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Wait for God and he will hear your cry. Wait patiently and you will realize your promise. He promised that if we ask anything in his name, he will give it to us, and he will but, we must be PATIENT. The bible says through patience or if we have patience, we will inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:12 (ESVST)
so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:15 (ESVST)
And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
The bible says that since God had no one higher than him to swear by, he swore by himself.
Hebrews 6:13 (ESVST)
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
When God makes a promise, he swears by himself. This means that if we do not realize the promise, then it will reflect on Him.
Hebrews 6:17-18 (ESVST)
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Since we know that God does not and cannot lie, whatever he has promised us, he will do. We just have to be patient and not doubt.
God is aware of your suffering. He is aware of your troubles, he is also aware that you have prayed more than 100 times already asking him for help. He is aware of all that but, bear one thing in mind that God does not use the same clock that you do, God sees the bigger picture while you only see your problems. God uses our hardships and sufferings as an opportunity to show his glory and also as an opportunity to teach us to obey him. One of the qualities that God wants to see when you are going through hardships or troubles or having problems is wether you have PATIENCE. Wether you will have patience enough to know that he will help you as he has promised. He also wants to see whether you will not loose your FAITH in him because according to you, he is taking too long. He wants to see wether you will not DOUBT his ability to help you because according to you he is taking too long.
Finally, have patience, for with patience, you will strengthen your faith and with faith, you will not doubt and without doubt, you will have hope.
Father thank you for today’s message. Thank you for showing us that we must have patience just like you have patience with us. Help us Father so that we may have and develop patience when we ask for help from you. We ask this in Jesus name Amen.