The patience of God sees beyond the present. It sees what can and will be, in spite of the evidence that may be against it in the current state of affairs. While it recognizes the conditions of the present and does not deny them; it nonetheless, knows how to wait for the necessary changes to come. God sees who we are today, along with all our attitudes, actions or inactions –our stuff. Since He is the Beginning and the Ending (Alpha and Omega), He sees the ending before the beginning. He knows who we will be tomorrow, the next day and all of the days of our life. For those who are lost in sin, He patiently waits for their repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. He does not hold their present condition against them (see 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Something for us to consider in relation to how we approach those who might offend us otherwise. He patiently works with us who are His children, as He conforms us to the image of Jesus –even when our pride gets in the way and we resist Him. So, what is patience?
Patience is a disposition that bears or endures injuries patiently –longanimity. Longsuffering as opposed to quickly becoming angry or wrathful. It means forbearance or tolerance. It is self-restraint before proceeding to action. It’s a quality of a person who is able to quickly avenge himself, yet refrains. It is associated with mercy and based on love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered. Since God is Love, He is also patient. Perhaps, our love can be measured by our patience. How does it compare to God’s? Think about this: God patiently endures the sins of people, waiting patiently for their repentance, while not holding it against them. In fact, He sent Jesus to eradicate our sin on our behalf, which is the Ultimate Example of love. Jesus endured the Cross along with all the shame and rejection (see Hebrews 12:1-3). He could have avenged Himself; but instead, He restrained Himself for our sakes. Why? Because He loves us.
Our Heavenly Father knew our struggles before the beginning of the world, and made provision for them. He placed His nature in us through Jesus Christ by giving us Holy Spirit. We are designed to love, and therefore, designed to be patient. “Well, I don’t feel very patient!” Yep, He knows that, and as already stated, He made the necessary provision to live it. Some talk about praying for patience, but it’s not something you need to ask for, because it’s already in you. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. It’s a matter of submitting to Holy Spirit. Because Holy Spirit is Love and patient, you can be love and patient also. By submitting to Him, His love and patience flows through you. When you make the decision to love people well, you will be patient with them. Just as God saw beyond your faults, you can see beyond theirs. Patience sees the way people can and will become. It will wait for it to manifest, while enduring anything contrary to it in the meantime. Since Jesus endured the Cross for our sake, perhaps we can carry our cross and be patient with others for His sake.
