The Wisdom of Patience

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."  -Saint Augustine 

Being patient isn't always the easiest thing to do. If you are a parent then you're quite aware of this point already! My father loved working on cars. He had an old metal sign that hung in the garage where he worked that read: Patience: The ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. I couldn't agree with this thought more.

No one could possibly teach us more about patience than Jesus Christ. He was extremely patient with his disciples. Like many of us, they could be thickheaded, lazy, selfish, and slow to believe. And, in spite of Jesus' miracles and words of wisdom, they tended to mostly focus on themselves and fluctuated in their belief about who he really was.

Even so, do we find him criticizing his disciples over their foolishness and stupidity? Or making fun of them when they make mistakes? To be honest, every now and then he does mention that they are slow to believe, or asks how long will they fail to have faith in him. But, he does this in his own fitting and useful way; not being petty, or complaining.

The important thing to pick up here is that Jesus' refusal to complain about his irritating disciples shows us alot about self-control, or patience. You or I might have gone off on all of them; really letting them have it. But he didn't. In spite of their vice and thick-headedness, he remained no less committed to them and served them even more as their failures became increasingly outstanding.

As we go on with our lives, our patience will be tried from time to time. How you handle high-stress, or frustrating situations will say mountains about your self-control. The easy, quick, knee-jerk response would be to go off on some wild tirade. (If you need proof, just check out some of those YouTube videos. Yikes!)

Or, you can look at the situation like Jesus probably did. He knows that none of us are perfect and we act accordingly. His disciples probably gave his some Ibuprofen moments for sure. But, he was willing to understand their imperfections and need to progress in their growth of faith.

Remember when Israel lost their cool and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt (Nehemiah 9:17)? God could have lost it and written them off, But He didn't. In this case, He showed just how long-suffering his patience is with us.

In spite of our repeated failings, pride, and stubborness, he is always ready to pardon (Nehemiah 9:17), and his Spirit is always ready to instruct (Nehemiah 9:20). Following God's example of forgiveness helps us forgive those who fail us, even "seven times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22).

Although our patience is tested every day and, we can hope, increased, we must keep in mind the process of sanctification and how God is constantly working in our difficulties, even in those little annoyances, to make us more like Jesus.

Scripture: Romans 12:12; Galatians 6:9; Philippians 4:6; Ecclesiastes 7:9; 1 Corinthians 13:4

Prayer: Holy Father, grant me the patience to live my life as a glowing example of your love and mercy. Help me demonstate this patience in my interaction with others everyday. Amen

Have a blessed day, 

Amy Lynn