There is only one person in the universe who is perfectly patient. The Lord Jesus Christ. We are made in the Lord’s image and are to be conformed to His image. We are to reflect the love of Jesus – and all that goes with love including patience.
God used a beautiful younger sister in the Lord to help me consider God’s love, patience, and mercy with His children.
Would you consider meditating on God’s love, patience, and mercy toward you throughout your life? And toward others you know? And toward the world as a whole?
Patience is a weak area in my life, and impatience is sin necessitating repentance and growth in love and patience.
Where do you stand with patience? Are you growing in God’s image? Are you growing in His love? And in patience?
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit of God who lives in His followers. When we abide in Jesus, in other words trust and rest and look to and hope in and learn from and commune and fellowship with and live for and live in obedience to Him, we will bear fruit. One such fruit is patience!
We do not need to muster up patience on our own. If we try in the flesh apart from God, we will likely miserably fail.
When we humble ourselves before God, when we cry out to God, praying to Him with fervor, when we say NO to the flesh and deny it, when we say YES to God and yield to His Spirit, we will see the fruit of God in and through us. Like patience.
Let us grow in the image of Jesus. In love, in patience, and in all He desires whereby we bring the Lord praise, honor, and glory! Amen!
Let us look to the one who is perfectly patient to make us more and more like Himself!
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patience in some Bible versions], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
Note the word “longsuffering” used in some Bible versions instead of patience. Being patient may involve long suffering in that we need to say NO to the flesh and YES to God when we have no desire to be patient! God will give us the ability to be patient when we turn to Him!
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29 NKJV
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…”” Genesis 1:26 NKJV
Please note “our image” may seem confusing since God is one person. But please understand God is three in one. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God!
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 NKJV