Consider a scenario where your teacher gives a plant project to the entire class. While most students opted for beans seeds, you chose tomato. The deadline for bringing in the plants for review was two weeks and despite following the procedure diligently, your plant didn’t seem to be growing at all. Meanwhile, your friends had started sharing stories about their blossoming plants. Frustrated, you decided to dig up your seed and discovered that it had already started sprouting roots. What a shock that must have been right? You would probably have started seeing results if only you exercised more patience.

In the world today where time seems to be waiting for no one and most things seem to be a threat to your peace of mind, patience is not an easy thing to exercise. Everyone wants everything to happen fast and in their own time. You’d hear phrases like, “Don’t test my patience” or “Patience is not a virtue I possess” from people. Wow! Tongue-speaking, firebrand, temple of God believer. Is that you? As a believer, you must understand that this is not your life, and it is possible for you to exercise patience at every point of your life.

Galatians 5:22-24

English Standard Version

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.

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

When the Bible talks about the fruit of the Spirit, it is referring to the attributes evident in the life of a born-again Christian. The moment you got saved, your flesh was crucified, and your desires and passions were changed, now you have the Spirit of God on your inside and can exhibit God-like attributes. It is the work of the Spirit in the life of a believer that produces these attributes seen in God. You are a new man in Christ and so you can walk in patience by the spirit.

Another translation refers to patience as “long-suffering”- the ability to withstand, wait, and show forbearance. As a man of the Spirit, this is your life, and you must walk in that consciousness lest you forget. You might have been praying to be more patient, but it is important to know that the fruit of the Spirit is evident in situations that would make you act otherwise or situations that contradict that fruit.

For example, in situations where your friend offends you and you have every reason to be mean, because you know the fruits evident in the life of a believer, you can choose to walk in love and kindness. Hence, you must always walk in that consciousness. That even when someone steps on your toes, or when God tells you to wait, your disposition is to remain patient especially when you have every reason to act otherwise.

James 1:3-4

New King James Version

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The Bible says the testing of your faith produces patience. Normally, trials, tests, or instructions to wait would ordinarily make you impatient. But the Bible says it produces patience. This shows that you’re a different man by the Spirit because the things that would ordinarily make you run out of patience help to build even more patience in you.

When you’re facing trials, when things are going south for you and you’re ready to give up, remember that you’re a changed man. Rather than getting impatient, angry, or hopeless, you can remain patient with the help of the Spirit.

In that God-given task and assignment where God told you to wait or to hold on, what are you doing? Are you waiting in faith or are you looking for a plan B? Remember that in due time, God who told you to wait will make it happen so trust in Him and wait patiently.

Patience is not far from you, it’s something you can stir up. You have the Holy Spirit on your inside. You can be patient. You are a man with changed desires so you can be patient. When situations that test our patience arise, we must remember that we have the Holy Spirit, we are born of the Spirit and that makes us different.

Prayer Point:

I declare that I am a man of the Spirit, I am born of the Spirit. Therefore, I am patient. Even when circumstances arise, I remain patient with the help of the Spirit, and in the name of Jesus, this fruit becomes more evident in my life.