What is Patience?

Each of us has a story of walking patiently with someone. My story is walking with a student that had difficulty sitting down. I worked with him by providing places for him to stand and do his school work. It was unconventional, but it seemed to help him deal with his extra energy and hopefully my patience had a positive impact on his learning experience. And each of us has a story of walking impatiently with someone. My story is with a student that refused to try and seemed to delight in it. By the end of the semester, I was at my wits end and I’m afraid, I was to the point of impatience with him and his attitude. I did fail him, the only time I had a student fail one of my classes.

Patience is “the quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge; the act of waiting long for justice without discontent; a calm temper which bears evils without murmuring; perseverance.’ [Webster]

Patience can be inactive or active. “Inactive patience thinks, ‘I hope it all works out.’ It’s like a prisoner waiting out time in a jail cell. They won’t try to escape, nor will they try to redeem themselves through an attorney, they’ll just wait it out. Active patience is like a soldier focused on victory. He systematically works towards victory every day. Active patience pursues and gets the job done.” [Skinner]

“There’s a unifying theme that permeates the entire Old Testament – the part of the Bible that tells of life before Jesus came to earth. From Genesis through Malachi, we are often reminded that God is faithful. At the same time, we’re given ample evidence that God’s people are not faithful. And that’s where Jesus comes in.”

“One of the themes of the New Testament is that God expects His people to behave differently than they did in the days before Christ arrived. Despite our shortcomings, we are commanded time and again not to give up. James says, ‘Blessed is a person who endures [is patient during] temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him.’(James)” [Ogden]

“Although most people consider patience to be a passive waiting or gentle tolerance, most of the Greek words translated ‘patience’ in the New Testament are active, robust words. Consider for example, Hebrews 12:1 – ‘Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance [patience] the race that is set before us.’ A Christian runs the race patiently by persevering through difficulties. In the Bible, patience is persevering towards a goal, enduring trials, or expectantly waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.” [GQ]

Biblical Thoughts on Patience

“Putting on a new nature – holy: dedicated or set apart for God’s purposes, totally devoted to the service of God. None of these attributes of Christian virtue is easy to ‘put on’ – but all of these attributes are reflective of Jesus’ nature and character. He is our role model. The Spirit dwells within us to produce the character traits of Christ Jesus if we are willing both to ask and to pursue these virtues.” [Blackaby 57]

“Longsuffering is also translated as patience, the opposite of quick anger, resentment, or revenge and thus epitomizes Jesus Christ. It endures injustice and troublesome circumstances with hope for coming relief.” [MacArthur 1742]

“Patience and longsuffering – these terms are closely related and refer to the attitude one has during trials. Patience looks more at enduring difficult circumstances while longsuffering looks at enduring difficult people.” [MacArthur 1732]

“Put on…longsuffering [patience]. This word is literally ‘long-temper.’ The short-tempered person speaks and acts impulsively and lacks self-control. When a person is longsuffering, he can put up with provoking people or circumstances without retaliating. It is good to be able to get angry, for this is a sign of holy character. But it is wrong to get angry quickly at the wrong things and for the wrong reasons.” [Wiersbe 687]

“Longsuffering speaks of patience under provocation and of the long endurance of offense. It combines joy and a kind attitude toward others, along with perseverance in suffering.” [MacDonald 2059]

“God saves sinners in a physical and temporal way from what they deserve, to show them His saving character that they might come to Him and receive salvation that is spiritual and eternal. Longsuffering [patience] indicates the duration for which God demonstrates His goodness and forbearance – for long periods of time. This demonstrates His grace to all mankind.” [MacArthur 1509]

“Our human patience is to be a reflection of God’s patience. To the degree that God ‘suffers long’ on our behalf, we are to be patient with others.” [Blackaby 58]

Patience Scriptures

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way.” (Psalm 37)

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.” (Ecclesiastes)

“If we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.” (Romans 8 AMP)

“Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor; never lagging behind in diligence; aglow in the Spirit, enthusiastically serving the Lord; constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength], contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality.” (Romans 12 AMP)

Patience Quotes

Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. ~Joyce Meyer

Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson. ~Elon Musk

It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. ~Julius Caesar

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~John Quincy Adams

Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character. ~Heraclitus

If you believe indeed in the Lord Jesus for the salvation of your soul, if you walk uprightly and do not regard iniquity in your heart, if you continue to wait patiently, and believingly upon God; then answers will surely be given to your prayers. ~George Muller

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. ~Arnold Glasow

Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious. ~Phillips Brooks

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. ~Helen Keller

Key Principle – We are encouraged to live our life in Christ and to ‘put on’ or to ‘clothe ourselves’ with: a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love.

Recommendations:

If you would like to read more about the garments we put on, read Compassion – One of 8 Garments We Wear https://strengthwithdignity.com/clothe-yourself-with-compassion/

And Kindness Kindness – One of 8 Garments to Wear – Strength with Dignity

Scriptures:

Ecclesiastes 7:8; Psalm 37:3-7; Romans 8:25, 12:10-13; James 1:12

References:

Amplified Bible (AMP). Copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation.

Blackaby, Henry, Richard, Thomas, Melvin & Norman. Encounters with God: Colossians/Philemon. Copyright 2008, pages 57-58.

What Does the Bible Say about Patience? Published by Got Questions [GQ]. Retrieved June 8, 2021 from https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-patience.html

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson, 2005, pages 1509, 1732, 1742.

MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary. Thomas Nelson, 2016, page 2059.

New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Ogden, Chris. When It’s Hard, Press On! Retrieved June 8, 2021 from https://victoriouslivingmagazine.com/2019/07/when-its-hard-press-on/?gclid=CjwKCAjwqvyFBhB7EiwAER786XchG-roLk-yD7iYiT42kQlEPVrJjP7aSsxvkl2kesHBZLlFczE99RoC_7gQAvD_BwE

Skinner, Kerry. Two Kinds of Patience. Published September 2, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2021 from https://thinklifechange.com/two-kinds-of-patience-2/

Webster 1828 Dictionary. Retrieved June 8, 2021 from http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/patience

Wiersbe, Warren B. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament. Published by David C. Cook, 2007, page 687.

Quotes – Retrieved June 9, 2021 from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/patience-quotes