Roots + Fruits - PART FOUR

P A T I E N C E

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Patience can be defined several different ways. The King James Version of the Bible translates it as “longsuffering.” That’s not the best way to characterize it, as it would lead us to believe that being patient means that we’ll suffer indefinitely with no end in sight.

The word Paul uses is makrothymia. What is implies is an endurance that withstands all opposition.

We see that word used both here in Galatians 5 as a fruit of the Spirit and in 1 Corinthians 13 as a characteristic of love. It’s important that our definition of patience doesn’t just leave us stranded. We’re not just here to suffer and get through it until we all get to Heaven. God has given us patience as a fruit of a life lived by the Spirit, which equips us to stay in the fight at all costs.

Patience is simply waiting with faith. If you’re waiting without faith, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Brother Copeland says that faith and patience are the power twins. When you engage your faith in the waiting, patience produces perseverance.

Romans 5:3–5 (ESV)

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Through the Spirit, we’ve received His love; that enables us to push forward in spite of what we’re enduring.

I believe that many people lack character because they lack endurance. They lack patience. Life gets hard and it’s easy to quit and go look for the easier path. What we miss in doing so is the development of our character that only patient endurance can produce.

If we are living by the Spirit, we have access to the fruit of patience to aid us in pushing through anything that the world would dare throw at us. Patience doesn’t quit. It doesn’t throw in the towel. When you haven’t seen the results you were wanting in the same minute you decided to believe for it, how do you respond? Many will doubt themselves or even doubt God. They’ll pivot to something else that’s easier to achieve and doesn’t require any patience.

If you haven’t seen the miracle yet, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

What the devil doesn’t want you to know is that you can’t lose if you don’t quit. His promises are yes and amen. If you’re still waiting, He’s still working. Not seeing the manifestation of your faith isn’t a loss. Change your perspective and start seeing it differently. You can’t lose if you don’t quit. You didn’t lose; you just haven’t won yet.

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Patience is faith in a season of waiting. When you are waiting, you expect something. Patience isn’t aimless. There’s expectation on the other end. It’s easy to be frustrated about what you’re not seeing and abandon the grace that God has for you when things aren’t happening the way you want them to happen.

Faith in your time of waiting means that you believe the Word more than your circumstances. It means you trust God more than you trust anyone. It takes faith to wait, because God’s timing and His plan might require more than what we see. It might require something from someone else that just isn’t ready yet. Our faith isn’t determined by what we see happening or the plan that we devise to make our dreams come true.

Faith is in God, His Word, and His promise. If He said it, He’ll do it. Just because you haven’t seen it yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It just means it hasn’t happened yet.

Romans 12:12 (ESV)

12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

What I love about this verse is that it demonstrates the connection between hope and patience. As Romans 5 mentioned, hope doesn’t put us to shame. We can have an expectation of the goodness of God showing up in every area of our lives, but we will miss it or abandon our hope if we aren’t willing to commit to patience in the process.

My message to you tonight begins with this: be patient. Don’t lose hope. Be willing to wait for God’s best for your life. He is only good and His plans are nothing but good. If you’re waiting for something in your life, be patient. Wait with faith.

Psalm 27:1–14 (ESV)

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

8 You have said, “Seek my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

9 Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they breathe out violence.

13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living!

14 Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

Wait for the Lord with faith and feed your faith while you’re waiting. If you’re standing and believing for God to do something in your life, don’t walk away from the field where that dream has been planted. Nurture it. Nourish it. Water it. And wait with faith and no doubt that God doesn’t leave you alone and without hope. He doesn’t tease you with good things and then pull the rug out from under you at the last minute. His desire is to give you His very best, and it’s not uncommon for the very best things to take time to develop and grow.

Be patient. The breakthrough is right around the corner. Until you see it, praise like you already have.

There’s another side to this message that has to be discussed. It’s one thing to have patience in our own processes. It’s one thing to wait on the Lord. He’s the Lord, so we owe Him at least that much, right?

The fruit of the Spirit that is patience will manifest itself not only in the patience you have in your own life, but also in the patience you have for others.

Romans 15:4–6 (ESV)

4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word used here is another Greek word for patience, which is hypomonē. There’s not much difference between this word and the other word, except that makrothymia is the word that would have been used to describe patience that wasn’t moved by suffering or circumstances that are the result of serving God. In many contexts, they’re interchangeable, but there are some situations in which one word applies and the other doesn’t.

It’s one thing to be patient in a faceless process, but what does it look like to be patient with others?

Remember that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that love was patient. Walking in love is walking in patience.

It’s pressing through where someone is now and seeing them through the eyes of faith. Seeing them through the eyes of love. Seeing them through the eyes of Jesus, who deemed them valuable enough to go to the cross and give up everything.

We are all works in progress moving closer and closer to who God has made us to be. I’m not there yet. Not fully. Neither are you. What right do I have to withhold from someone that which I’m expecting for myself?

You can’t be all about patience and mercy for yourself and judgment and unwavering perfection for everyone else.

I heard someone the other day start a sentence by saying, “I have no patience for people who...”

We can probably all fill in that blank for ourselves, but it’s a dangerous game. You can’t expect to be dealt with patiently by God if you refuse to show patience to others.

Matthew 7:12 (ESV)

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

It’s my heart that patience would have its work in me.

James 1:4–5 ESV

4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

I quote James 1:5 regularly, but let’s not forget the verse that comes before it. Patience brings maturity. Maturity results in humility that leads us to asking God for wisdom.

Chill. Be patient. Grow up. Recognize what you lack and then ask God to fill in the blanks with Himself. Maybe we have become impatient because we’ve become immature and tried in our pride to make things happen ourselves instead of allowing patience to do its work in us and God to do His work in our situation.