Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Working with Alzheimer’s patients requires a lot of patience, especially while waiting for an agitated individual seek the words to express the feelings s/he is struggling to convey.  At times it is easy to long to walk off or wish they would reach the point.

On the flip side of the coin, is standing in line waiting to check out, while the person in

What are you waiting for?

front of us holds up the line.  We begin to tap our foot and check our watch, eager to be on our way.

Dictionary.com defined patience as:

1. The quality of being patient, such as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like
2. An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay
3. Quiet, steady perseverance, even-tempered care, diligence

Patience is also referred to in various scriptures as forbearance, longsuffering or endurance.

According to Strong’s concordance, the word derives from two Greek words: makrothumia and hupomone

Strong’s concordance says “The word denotes lenience, forbearance, fortitude, patient endurance, longsuffering. Also included

Do you wait patiently for God to work? It’s not always easy, but is what He ask us to do.

in makrothumia is the ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment. It describes a person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint… hupomone, is translated “endurance”: Constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out, patient endurance. The word combines hupo, “under”, and mone, “to remain”. It describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat… being further understood as that which would be “as opposed to cowardice or despondency.”

So, what does scripture say about patience or longsuffering?

1. “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2
2. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up            1 Corinthians 13:4
3. But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
4. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.   Habakkuk 2:3
5. We boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produce perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope.    Romans 5:2-4

Where do you find your peace?