Hi Friends,
Patience is a virtue…and if you are born again, it is a gift that has been given to us in the Fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22-23) The question is never, can we be patient? The question is are we growing in the seed of patience that has already been given to us? Listen to the wisdom of God’s Word:
“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. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Jas 5:7-8 ESV
Wait for the precious fruit. As I mentioned above, when we surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to unite with our dead spirit and He gives us Life Everlasting. With His indwelling Presence, He brings all sorts of great gifts too. One of them is the Fruit of the Spirit. Please note two things: 1- it is not the fruit of humans! It is the Fruit of the Spirit. In other words, we humans cannot access these awesome gifts unless we are centering our hearts on Him. 2- it is the Fruit, singular, not fruits, plural. We can access all of these virtues, any time we need them (which is always) and we can grow in them so that we live by these incredible character traits, more and more. The fourth one listed in those verses above is…that’s right, patience. So Christian, next time you are tempted to say, “I just don’t have the patience for such and such!” check yourself. The truth is you are just not using the patience you already have within you, because you are leaning on yourself instead of the Spirit. (Zech 4:6)
Fruit takes time to grow. As we learn to cooperate with God, following the immaculate example of Jesus and remembering we have the Holy Spirit within us to give us whatever we need for the situation at hand…including patience…this lovely Fruit of the Spirit also grows within us. That means, we will utilize His patience instead of succumbing to the fallen impatience more and more. It becomes automatic…or as I confessed last week, we move more quickly towards patience than if we didn’t grow at all. God knows His children need time to grow. This is why He allows all the challenges we face. Again like I said last week, with each similar trial, we turn quicker to God and allow His Fruit to display in and then through us, more and more. I know I say “more and more” a lot, but that’s because growth is a process. Fruit takes time to grow.
Growth requires early and late rains. It would be great if we all learned to display patience the first time we encounter a trial, but that’s not our tendency. Usually when God is helping us grow, it takes more than just one go around the issue at hand. We need early “rains,” to show us that we have a problem in that area. These “rains” help us admit we need God’s help and turn us to God so we can receive His help. It is these “rains” that nurture our growth, helping us to turn quicker to God and allow His Fruit to shine in and through us. Then we need the late “rains” to show us our progress. These “rains” display the level of how grounded we are in that virtue, for instance, how much more patient we have become because of the early “rains.” It is these “rains” that show us how much we have grown, or not, in that area. Rain is challenging and we often do not want it at all! But rain is good. It helps the seed within us to grow.
Lord, keep me patient. The more this precious Fruit grows, the less any “rain” presents a challenge to us. We can maintain the whole Fruit- love, peace, joy, patience, and so on- and we will not allow those trials to affect and infect us. We become like teflon, and let things roll right off of us, becoming steady and content no matter what. That’s the goal…to be like Jesus. That doesn’t mean we won’t “feel” things, but it does mean, with God’s help, we will be able to handle whatever comes our way, with peace and joy intact. I know I want that. How about you? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
