Patience as a Virtue: Part 1 — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

Good morning. I’m Chris Witts, great joy to be with you today. You know what it’s like, you’re driving and there are traffic jams, you’re stuck in the middle and you’re in a hurry, you can’t get around. Or if you go to the supermarket and there are long queues there and uh you just need to get through that checkout, or people that are rude to you in the shops, slow drivers in front of you, or neighbours that let their dog bark all night.

Now these are some of the daily frustrations that might test the level of patience of uh any of us, but really it’s the stuff of everyday life that drives your patience right out the window sometimes. I want to talk today and again tomorrow about this idea of patience. Patience is a virtue, they say. A man who is a master of patience, they said, is a master of everything else, and that’s worth thinking about.

But I think that many of us really have trouble being patient because it’s the sort of thing that doesn’t come very easily. Maybe you’ve prayed, Well, Lord, give me patience, but hurry up. I don’t have time to wait patiently. I need your patience right now. It’s really a contradiction in terms, isn’t it?

So let’s try and define patience. What is it?

Well, someone has said it’s the exhibiting of calm endurance when there is pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance, so it’s showing calm endurance.

So it goes way beyond just uh enduring annoying people without losing your temper, because perseverance in its real sense also applies to the time of hardship, difficulty, or even persecution.

And some translations of the Bible use the uh the word long suffering in the King James Version and in the New King James Version, that word patience is translated as long suffering. You’ve probably heard that. For example, in Colossians 1:11, the Bible says that his glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure everything.

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And Paul the apostle also said to the Ephesian church, Always be humble and gentle, patiently put up with each other and love each other. That’s Ephesians 4:2.

So I think it’s true to say, you know, that God uses all types of circumstances to work on our patients or the level that we have, whether it’s large or small, to prepare us for what lies ahead.

So if you like, patience is like love on trial. Now there’s a lot in the Bible that talks about patience. For example, we see in the Old Testament how patient God is. In Exodus at the time of Moses, we read, I am the Lord God. This is Exodus 34:6-7. I am merciful and very patient with my people.

He said, I show great love. I can be trusted. I keep my promises to my people forever. And they were the dependable words of a god way back there in Exodus 34.

He said, I show great love. I can be trusted. I keep my promises to my people forever. And they were the dependable words of a god way back there in Exodus 34.

The Psalms also give us a great example of the patience of God. For example, Psalm 86:15. This is what the author said. You, the Lord God, are kind and merciful. You don’t always get angry, and your love can always be trusted. That’s another way of saying, God, you are kind, merciful, and patient.

We also see, for example, in the New Testament this wonderful verse from 2 Peter 3:9 and says the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you. He is not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

So here we have these words slow to anger. In other words, our God is slow to get angry. What that really means is that God is not hot tempered.

He’s put up with sin and rebellion. He sticks to his promises. He’s merciful. He was patient, for example, with Adam and Eve, although he was firm with them. He was patient. He was patient with Noah and his generation, and he actually postponed the flood until all hope of repentance was passed.

And the children of Israel, here they were, the people that were told to move out.

Lord, your presence in my life brings me joy. It’s a special joy, Lord, that keeps your peace deep within my life and the satisfaction of knowing that I am loved by you.

But over and over again we read that they murmured against God. They worshipped other gods. They disobeyed His commands. Now of course God disciplined them, but He didn’t cast them off.

But Lord, your presence in my life brings me joy. It’s a special joy, Lord, that keeps your peace deep within my life and the satisfaction of knowing that I am loved by you. May your love reach out and touch the lives, Lord, today of people who need your love and also help us to be patient.

And for those who are lonely, may your blessing be upon them. I pray in the name of Jesus.

Amen

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