God is love, love is
patient. That means God is patient.
Patience is often considered a passive
activity, but it is not. Patience is
the ability to remain calm in the midst
of unfavorable circumstances. It is the
ability to withstand unpleasant
situations with disciplined self
control.
Patience does not come
easily. Because of the nature of this
love characteristic, it must be
developed in unfavorable circumstances.
You really don’t have to have patience
when everything is going well; but you
need a wellspring of it when things are
unpleasant.
While
developing patience, it is not necessary
to like the situation or to have all of
the answers. As a matter of fact,
we are told:
•
Trying times in our life are an
opportunity to grow in endurance. (James
1:3-4)
•
We are even encouraged to ask God for
wisdom.
(James
1:5)
•
We are instructed to believe in God
alone, or expect nothing from the Lord.
(James
1:6-8)
We could never
learn to be brave and patient if
there were only joy in the
world. Helen Keller (1880-1968)
