Early in my Christian walk I decided not to pray for patience and here鈥檚 why: patience is mostly developed through hardship. Even the Apostle Paul agrees with me (or more accurately, I agree with him):
鈥淎nd not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.鈥� 聽Romans 5:3 (AKJV). More about the glorying later.
You may justifiably disagree with me that it takes hard times to develop patience, because it鈥檚 true, some folks are simply more patient by nature; that deep willingness to wait for good results in a difficult situation, however, rarely comes easily to most of us. An on-line definition of patience is 鈥渢he capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.鈥� Oops, I鈥檓 still learning.
In looking for an example of patience, I don鈥檛 need to look further than out my living room window; after all, this is pet country. There seem to be fewer and fewer of us folk who don鈥檛 own and walk dogs on a regular basis but I鈥檝e learned a lot from simply watching and listening. For example, 鈥渉eel鈥� is a word I hear regularly, then watch as owners teach their animals to keep their safe and useful place.
Back to the part about glorying in tribulation. That lesson has taken a lot longer to learn but it鈥檚 been a valuable one: an attitude of surrender to the will of God, even when it hurts, develops genuine patience and willingness to let Him work out His plan in His time.
There are immediate benefits, as well. In the Bible version I use most often, Solomon doesn鈥檛 actually use the word but in a newer version, the New Living Translation, his words go like this: 鈥淧atience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.鈥� (Proverbs 25:15)
Amen!
