Patience is a Virtue

We are all very familiar with the phrase “patience is a virtue” and we may also know that patience is one of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. But what does it mean to be virtuous or patient? Well, virtue means to have excellent moral standards and a noble character while patience is usually defined as having the ability to accept trouble, suffering or delay without getting upset or complaining.

Part of being a Christian is having the ability to accept circumstances that may not be very fortunate and having faith that God will provide a solution. But nowadays patience has become the fruit that is very difficult to grow. Our society sometimes doesn’t value patience the way God does. In a world where everything is moving so fast, where we want everything done now is difficult to even take a moment to breathe. Even our day to day activities require patience like waiting in line at the grocery store or driving and waiting for the light to turn green, we all want things to happen fast. We need to learn to slow down a bit and just breathe.

If you ever have this feeling where everything is moving so fast and you feel like you can’t catch up, you feel overwhelmed the solution is prayer. Prayer and patience go hand in hand and so does self-control. We have to make time for prayer and be persistent about it. Pray for patience and for the ability to learn how to wait and endure discomfort without complaining. We can tolerate difficult situations in life through prayer because prayer gives us the patience we need to endure those situations; that’s what makes patient a virtue. That being said, having self control comes into play when we talk about patience and so does humility. We must have humility to be able to stop ourselves from complaining and accept situations as they come and know that they will pass. 

Patience is not the only virtue we must practice, there are a few others that are also qualities of the fruit of the Spirit and we must learn to model ourselves to. Being patient is vital to be able to trust God as our life circumstances change and aren’t always what we would like them to be. 

Cultivate and nurture the fruits of the Spirit for they are the evidence of the Holy Spirit in us and the connection to God. Trust God because he is our ultimate prize of our life.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. - Psalm 37:7-9