Patience is a key ingredient to our maturity with God. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and God develops it in us as we partner with Him. It’s what allows us to see the fruition of God’s process in our lives.
Without patience, we have a tendency to be like the Israelites in the desert who kept whining and complaining. They went around the mountain for forty years and didn’t get to see the Promised Land. They got frustrated with Moses and the circumstances, and disobeyed God, which led to more waiting and impatience!!
There are many reasons why patience is so significant in the life of a believer.
Through patience full truth is revealed
The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8
When we are faced with a new challenge, the tendency is to draw quick conclusion based on limited facts. We may call ourselves prophetic but it is really pride. The first thing we should do is to ask the Lord, “What are you showing me through this? What will this teach me about you?” This takes the focus away from the person or the circumstance, and it helps us look to Christ!
When we are patient and willing to receive more input, over time things will become clearer. If we adamantly insist on our viewpoint, then we remain in pride, and it can derail us from seeing things clearly.
People have partial truth, but the full truth belongs to God who knows all things and see all things. If we patiently wait and not try to win the argument, in time God can reveal the truth to everyone involved. That will settle the matter much better than if we tried to force it early on. We also have the opportunity to get new revelation of who God is and His marvelous work in our lives in the process.
If you were Haman or Joseph’s friend, what would your reaction be based on what was going on initially in their lives? Would you flatter individuals like Haman because they seemed successful for a period of time? Would you be judgmental of Joseph because his life seemed like a failure for a season? Patience allows time to clear things up and reveal truth; it settles the dust and takes away the confusion.
Patience puts to death carnality. Naturally, the flesh is driven to strive and push its own agenda. A Patient person lives a surrendered life and allows the Holy Spirit to take the lead. That’s a life of peace and contentment, and it is the kind of life that the Lord desires for us live.