Fruit of the Spirit: PATIENCE

Kyle was one of my youth group students back in Kalamazoo. Kyle was one of those kids who paid attention to detail; he didn’t take shortcuts that skipped over whatever he thought was important to experience and do right. I remember the year Kyle went along on my annual youth group backpacking trip in the Colorado mountains. It is a trip in which I plan and pack dehydrated food for everyone in the group to carry in our packs. Kyle was a sportsman and wanted more. He did the work to get himself a Colorado fishing license through the mail before the trip. He collected all the fishing gear he would need that was specially designed to be carried in a backpack. And three days into the mountain we came to a camping spot beside a mountain lake just below 11,000 ft. That’s pretty high up towards the source of the snowmelt feeding the stream. I wasn’t sure if a lake that high up would have trout; that didn’t stop Kyle. He spent hours that afternoon fishing in that lake and coming up empty. But he was patient; he kept at it; he paid attention to all the right detail needed to fish in a high-altitude lake. It paid off—sort of. Kyle caught two small rainbow trout that afternoon. That’s what he had to show for his hours of fishing. But after three days of hiking with nothing but freeze-dried meal packets, a small bite of fish tasted so very good with that evening’s supper.

Kyle checked that one off his list. It was a long road to get there, but he did it. Three days hiking up a mountain; hours of standing by a lake fishing; he was patient and he got what he came for. That’s the kind of person Kyle is. After high school Kyle came up to Grand Rapids and attended Calvin University. He stayed here in Grand Rapids after college and started his own business in the beverage industry. He still kept the same patience in his business of doing things the right way and paying attention to all the details that matter even if it meant having to take the long road to get there. In fact, that’s the name Kyle gave to his business, Long Road Distillery. And it is the reason why he gave it that particular name. It’s right here in Grand Rapids on the north end of town. Sometimes doing things the best way takes patience. That’s what we are talking about today.

I don’t preach from Proverbs all that often. Maybe it would be good to remind ourselves of a few features we see in the Proverbs that will help us to understand a little better what these words mean. The book of Proverbs is several thousand years old. Here are a few features to be looking for. Many proverbs work with a ‘better than’ formula comparing two things. A common example is, better to be wise than to be foolish; or better to be poor and content than to be rich and unsatisfied. The function of a proverb is to point out the futility of certain activities and certain ways of living, and to provide a better alternative. See if you can spot some of these ‘better than’ formulas in these verses from Proverbs 19.

Proverbs 19:1–12 NIV

1 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. 2 Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way! 3 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord. 4 Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them. 5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free. 6 Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts. 7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives— how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found. 8 The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. 9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish. 10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury— how much worse for a slave to rule over princes! 11 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. 12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

the spiritual fruit of patience is not about what patience does for you; it is about what patience does through you

Today we are digging into the spiritual fruit of patience. I think we might all agree that patience is a virtue we admire when we see it well in other people. I think we might all agree that patience is a virtue that we all wish we could be better at every now and again at moments in our lives. But today I want us to dig just a little bit deeper through the words of this biblical proverb and go one step further. I don’t want this to be some kind of self-help seminar on how to be a more patient person. What we are talking about is spiritual fruit. Patience as we see it in the Bible is not about personal self-improvement; it is about bearing spiritual fruit which produces and advances the love and grace and shalom flourishing of God in this world. Patience does not end at you becoming a better person; it reaches beyond you into this world becoming a better place—or, if I can put some biblical language to it—this world becoming more redeemed. The spiritual fruit of patience is not about what patience does for you; it is about what patience does through you.

Let’s start by tracing the way patience is woven into the lines of this proverb. At first glance it might appear that this was just 12 verses of one-off sayings that might be able to stand alone as something you might find on a slip of paper inside a fortune cookie. No, there is a connection happening in the lines of this proverb. Maybe if we see the progression, it will be easier to understand the theme woven throughout.

verses 1 and 3 are parentheses around verse 2

The first three verses form something of an introduction. In that, verses 1 and 3 are sort of parentheses around verse 2. It is verse 2 which really introduces the topic at hand in this passage.

Proverbs 19:2 NIV

2 Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

Hebrew nephesh = desire, zeal, soul, life, throat, neck

This is an important verse in the passage; let’s pick it apart. Desire is an English translation of the Hebrew word nephesh. If you are looking at an older NIV English Bible it is translated as ‘zeal.’ Nephesh is a very common word in the Hebrew Old Testament; it is most often translated as ‘soul’ or ‘life.’ The Hebrew word nephesh literally means ‘throat’ or ‘neck.’ In this instance, context gives it the nuance of emotion, desire, appetite, zeal. Think of it this way; maybe you are familiar with the English language idiom, lump in your throat. It is a phrase we use to describe the feeling when a sudden overwhelming burst of some kind of emotion sweeps over a person. It is such a sudden sweeping moment of emotion that the person almost literally feels it physically in their body. Thus phrases like ‘lump in my throat’ or ‘makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.’ It is a passionate emotion that hits so hard, it almost completely takes over your body. That kind of nephesh (desire) without knowledge is not good.

passion without the ability to understand or perceive those desires is not good

Knowledge in this verse is a Hebrew word that means ‘ability to understand.’ It is not knowledge in the sense of learned facts or collected data or memorized trivia. It is the ability to understand, the ability to discern, the ability to realize. Look at how these two words come together in verse 2. It is not that all passion or desire or zeal is in itself a bad thing. But passion without the ability to understand or perceive those desires is not good.

NET Bible — “the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.”

a lack of patience produces a bad outcome

The second line of verse 2 puts this statement into motion: “how much more will hasty feet miss the way!” The New English Translation of the Bible puts it this way, “the one who acts hastily makes poor choices.” In other words, a lack of patience produces a bad outcome. There is the theme of this passage in one line. But it needs some further explanation.

four-verse vignette from verses 4-7 which talks about shallow and hollow friendships Verse 8 is a pivot verse which comes back to the theme four-verse vignette from verses 9-12 which talks about control and authority and rulers

The rest of this section of Proverbs 19 we looked at breaks up this way. There is a four-verse vignette from verses 4-7 which talks about shallow and hollow friendships. Verse 8 is a pivot verse which comes back to the theme. And then there is another four-verse vignette from verses 9-12 which talks about control and authority and rulers.

So, let me spend just a moment on the other key verse in this passage; verse 8, which pivots the theme between those two four-verse vignettes.

Proverbs 19:8 NIV

8 The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

The one who holds onto wisdom will find goodness

verse 2 tells us what a lack of patience looks like, restatement of the theme in verse 8 tells us what patience does look like

The one who acquires wisdom loves nephesh (life). Back in verse 2 nephesh (desire) is considered bad when it comes without the ability of understanding. And now here in verse 8 nephesh (this time, life) is considered a good thing when it comes with wisdom. The one who holds onto (NIV cherishes) understanding will soon prosper. This is not prosperity in the sense of business or financial success. It is two Hebrew words together, matzah meaning ‘find’ or ‘discover’ and tov meaning ‘good’ or ‘goodness.’ The one who holds onto wisdom will find goodness. If the theme which is expressed in verse 2 tells us what a lack of patience looks like, this restatement of the theme in verse 8 tells us what patience does look like—or better, where patience comes from.

This description of patience is poetically fleshed out a bit more in that final vignette. Look again at verses 11-12.

Proverbs 19:11–12 NIV

11 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. 12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

overlook offence — no uncontrolled rush for revenge

Overlook offence; that simply means there is no uncontrolled rush for revenge; no lashing out at a grudge. Rage is compared to a lion—a ferocious animal that will devour its prey. But with patience, the king’s rage becomes favor, and is refreshing and renewing like the morning dew. There’s a glimpse at the structure of these 12 verses in Proverbs which talk about the theme of patience. Now let’s take that forward and consider how this explanation of patience takes shape as a spiritual fruit which God produces in his people.

patience is about the constructive renewal that comes in moments of waiting

When we begin to embrace the virtue of patience as a spiritual fruit, we begin to consider what it is that patience produces in us as its result, or its byproduct. You see, this is where we begin that patience is more than just waiting. I think we already know that at some level. Patience is not simply the act of waiting quietly; patience is about the constructive renewal that comes in moments of waiting. After all, there eventually always comes a time to act. Being patient should not be confused with delaying the appropriate action when the time is right to act.

measured perspective — patience gives the space in my life to be able to step back and consider multiple points of view

Where, then, does the spiritual fruit of patience play into this? Proverbs says that wisdom yields (or produces) patience. Let’s try to name from the examples in this proverb what that wise patience looks like as a spiritual fruit. I am going to give it a name. Let’s call it measured perspective. The spiritual fruit of patience that comes from wisdom gives us measured perspective. Patience gives the space in my life to be able to step back and consider multiple points of view. Patience allows for me to back up and ask, what does a particular issue look like through somebody else’s eyes, through someone else’s life?

lack of patience will always result in a lack of perspective

A lack of patience will always result in a lack of perspective. The impatient fool being described in Proverbs acts hastily from within their own unchecked swarm of overwhelming instant emotions. The person of wise patience takes the necessary moments to explore and consider the thoughts and feelings of others, and the impact one’s actions have upon those around them.

Consider one of the examples in this proverb. There is a rich person who has many so-called friends. But without a measured perspective to look more intently at the feelings and motivations of those other so-called friends, the proverb tells us that many of those people are not really friends at all, but are only attracted to the wealth of the rich person. Don’t misunderstand the proverb, it is not saying that the friendships of all rich people are shallow and hollow. It is saying the rich person who embraces wise patience takes the time to gain a measured perspective in order to discern who the genuine friends really are.

measured perspective requires humility

A measured perspective is what the wise person of patience seeks out. It is something that is pursued and embraced with a certain amount of humility. Seeking different and various perspectives from other people automatically must admit that there is more than one perspective, more than just the perspective that I have and that I hold. And a measured perspective will dare to ask the question, what if my perspective is wrong? What if there are things that I do not know? What can I learn from the thoughts and feelings and experiences of others which might help me see the world around me with fresh eyes that are open to the best possible redemption and restoration for those in our world who need it the most?

it takes patience to put our own thoughts and feelings and emotions on pause in order to truly take in the thoughts and feelings and emotions of another

measured perspective keeps me open to God’s nephesh

A measured perspective always seeks to look at the world through somebody else’s eyes, from somebody else’s life. And that takes patience. It takes patience to put our own thoughts and feelings and emotions on pause in order to truly take in the thoughts and feelings and emotions of another. You can see in the proverb the way that the poor person in that first vignette (verses 4-7) is left deserted, isolated, and alone. The poor person is left with no one who possesses the wisdom of measured perspective to reach down and truly enter a consideration of life from the perspective of the poor. Those in our society who are made to be silenced and hidden the most are the ones whom we should be turning towards the most intentionally in order to gain the measured perspective which brings about the spiritual fruit that comes from patience.

does God do what it takes to have a measured perspective?

Let’s bring this forward to the gospel. Let me ask the question; does God do what it takes to have a measured perspective? I know the question sounds a little silly; after all, God is all-knowing. And after all, God is perfect so God’s perspective is always the correct perspective. But let’s not let go of the part of this in which a measured perspective is redemptive to those around us. Does God embrace a measured perspective for the purpose of redemption? Consider what we saw back during the season of Lent when we read through the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:14–16 NIV

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus set aside his nephesh in order to embrace my nephesh in order to redeem my nephesh

Jesus himself sought out and embraced the measured perspective of being able to know exactly what it is like to live as one of us, in every way. This demonstrates the redemptive patience of God himself. After all, the Old Testament prophets wrote:

Exodus 34:6 NIV

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

God himself demonstrates the spiritual fruit of patience in his own redemptive covenant

Slow to anger. God himself demonstrates the spiritual fruit of patience in his own redemptive covenant. The apostle Peter confirms this in the New Testament.

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

every day there are opportunities for you to echo the redemptive love of God into the lives of others

God’s patience produces a result. It for the purpose of redemption. You and I bear the spiritual fruit of patience whenever we seek to embrace a measured perspective into the lives of others. God provides those moments into our lives every single day. Every day Jesus intercedes for us before the heavenly Father because he knows us. Every day there are moments which offer us new glimpses at redemption given to us by God as he makes us more and more holy through his Spirit. Every day there are opportunities for you to echo the redemptive love of God into the lives of others. But it takes patience; and that’s why God’s Spirit plants the seed of that spiritual fruit into our lives.