Producing the Fruit of Patience: Trusting God Below the Surface

^“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” Galatians 5:22-23.

Have you ever prayed for patience? It is not an easy prayer. I heard of a person who once prayed, “Lord, make me patient and make me patient now!”

Patience

As much as we sometimes think it is, patience does not mean simply waiting.

There are two words for patience in the New Testament. The word “hupomone” means steadfast endurance, perseverance, or remaining under a heavy load. The other word “makrothumia” means long-suffering or slowness to anger in relationship to people.

“Hupomone” is used when enduring difficult situations or life circumstances without giving up. “Makrothumia” is used with people. Forgiving offenses or responding without retaliation.

Neither word simply means waiting. Both are Spirit-empowered. Whether it is the ability to endure difficulties, wait on God without complaining, or treating others with love and generosity, both are rooted in God’s grace. Patience is a gift from God that is greater than waiting for a preferred result.

Patience Includes…

Patience includes enduring tough situations and circumstances. Job remained faithful through immense suffering. Jesus demonstrated perfect patience by enduring rejection, suffering, and the cross while showing compassion and forgiveness. So, patience is remaining faithful when life is difficult. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).

Patience includes a special care for people. It is responding by being slow to anger and quick to listen. It is responding with generosity instead of reacting critically or harshly. It is offering forgiveness without demanding something in return. So, patience begins with a focus upon people and upon strengthening relationships. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Be completely humble and gentile; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

Patience includes trusting God’s timing. It is believing that God is working even when answers are delayed. So, patience is an active trust as opposed to passive waiting. It means remaining faithful, loving, and hopeful because you believe God is faithful. The Psalmist wrote, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalms 37:7).

Ultimately, patience includes trusting God’s Spirit in your life as opposed to relying upon your human willpower. Patience, being part of the fruit of the Spirit, is rooted in love. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Love is patient, love is kind…” I Corinthians 13:4).

Working Below the Surface

Here is a story that illustrates God is working below the surface, even when we cannot see the results.

When a farmer plants the seed of a Chinese bamboo tree, nothing seems to happen for the first year. He waters it, fertilizes it, and tends the soil every day.

The second year, still nothing appears above the ground.

The third year, nothing.

The fourth year, still nothing.

Imagine the neighbors. “Why are you wasting your time? That seed is dead.”

But the farmer keeps watering, trusting that something is happening that he cannot see.

Then, sometime during the fifth year, a tiny shoot breaks through the surface. Within a matter of weeks, the bamboo grows 80 to 90 feet tall.

The question is: Did the bamboo grow in six weeks, or in five years? You know the answer.

Strength, Growth, and Patience

During those unseen years, the tree was developing an extensive root system capable of supporting its incredible height. Had it grown sooner, it would have collapsed under its own weight.

God often works that way in our lives. We pray. We wait. We trust. Even though it seems as if nothing is happening. Patience is trusting that God is working below the surface, even when we cannot see the results. Like the bamboo tree, the greatest growth often begins where no one else can see it.

Planting Seeds that Require Patience

And when it comes to people, Patience is the willingness to invest in the lives of people with whom we may never see the results. Parents plant seeds of faith that may bloom years later. Teachers shape lives that may not bear fruit until adulthood. Churches faithfully grow followers of Jesus knowing the harvest belongs to God. Every act of obedience, every prayer, every word of encouragement, every sacrifice, and every expression of love is a seed planted in the lives of the people God sends our way.

So, be careful when you pray for patience. God will continue to work in your life in such a way that the people around you will experience God’s love and become more who God created them to be. Be patient because it will happen one person at a time.

Lord, make me patient by giving me the faith that you are working deep within me so I might love others as you have loved me. Amen