The Fruit of the Spirit Is Patience: Looking to God

The fruit of the Spirit is patience. Patience is first of all an attribute of God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul asks the question, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4; cf. 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:15). God is exceedingly patient with rebellious sinners, giving them every opportunity to repent.

God’s Perfect Patience toward Us

Paul himself experienced God’s patience firsthand. After quoting a trustworthy saying—“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and adding, “of whom I am the foremost,” Paul writes, “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:15–16; cf. 2 Pet. 3:9).

Many of us can attest that we, too, were the objects of God’s infinite patience prior to our conversion. We will do well to remember that, not too long ago, we ourselves desperately needed God to be patient with us when we persisted in rebellion against him. This will help us to be patient with those who need us to exhibit kindness so God can do his gracious work in them.

Our Need for Complete Patience

The final time Paul uses the word “patience” in his thirteen New Testament letters is in the last chapter of his second letter to Timothy: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:1–2).

The reason Paul gives for why Timothy will need “complete patience” is this: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3–4). 

Similarly, pastors today need great patience as they minister in an unresponsive world where many do not “endure sound teaching” but “turn away from listening to the truth.” People in the culture, and maybe even in the church, follow their own preferences and block out the gospel; they find those who support them in their antagonism toward the message of Scripture. Amid widespread rejection, God calls you to press on and to continue preaching.

Waiting on the Lord

How, then, can we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us his perfect patience?

David learned patience in nearly fifteen years of waiting for God to fulfill his promise to make him king after Samuel had anointed him (1 Sam. 16:13). During those excruciating, agonizing years, he endured much opposition from King Saul who repeatedly threatened his life. David expressed his confidence in the Lord’s deliverance in a psalm, testifying, 

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Ps. 27:14).

God Rewards Patience

Similarly, the prophet Isaiah challenged his fellow Israelites, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’?” He asked, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:27–31).

Because God’s patience is infinite, and his power inexhaustible, he can be a source of new strength to those who are ready to faint.

There are weary people in your congregation! Many are exhausted, wary of waiting for God to fulfill his promise of restoration and renewal. Encourage them that, if they patiently look to him, God will prove faithful. God’s timetable is different from ours, as are his ways: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8–9).

Pastoral Implications

The fruit of the Spirit is patience. Yet Paul doesn’t use the word “patience” anywhere else in his letter to the Galatians. This may not be a coincidence. Is it possible that Paul’s patience with those who distorted the gospel in Galatia was wearing thin? Even the great apostle was in need of patience as he battled those who threatened to undo his apostolic ministry.

Similar circumstances may bring us, too, to a point of doubt and despair. In our inner disposition, apart from the Spirit, we may be naturally impatient. But we’re not called to muster patience in our own strength. We can take comfort in the fact that the Holy Spirit can produce patience in us if we only look to him.

Conclusion

The fruit of the Spirit is patience. Pastors, do you ever wonder if your preaching makes any impact? Are you tired of receiving little positive encouragement and not a small amount of criticism and opposition? Are you ever weary of doing good?

This is where Paul’s words can resonate with you: “But the fruit of the Spirit is … patience” (Gal. 5:22). Look to the Spirit to produce in you the kind of patience that is innate in God’s very own nature. He will replace your natural impatience with God’s infinite patience, so you can patiently wait for the Lord’s deliverance and set an example for those under your pastoral care.

Note: This post originally appeared on the Focused Pastor website.