The Love Series Pt 2: Patience

As I am doing a Love Series, I thought what better topic to talk about than to talk about patience. We’ve all been there where it feels like our patience is being tested. It may be that you’re waiting for an answer from God, maybe he’s given you a promise. It could be that you’re waiting for that situation to change or maybe it is a person that you need to exercise more patience towards. Yet, all it feels like you’re doing is waiting.

This is where you will need patience.

“Love is patient, love is kind…”

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4 ~

Patience is one of the many facets of love and is required in all aspects of life. So let’s look at two areas where you would need it.

#1. Patience in Waiting:

If you never had to wait for anything, you would never know that you had the ability to be patient. Have you ever heard of that saying? Waiting actually produces patience.

So what are you waiting for today? Since we are talking about love, this one is for all my single sisters. You may be waiting for God to bless you with a husband and as you are waiting you may feel yourself growing weary. God says…

“But those who wait on 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.”

~ Isaiah 40:31 ~

Wait on God. Maybe you’re tired of waiting and may feel to take matters into own hands. If you are feeling like this, consider that this is likely to have detrimental effects. Look at the story of Abraham and Sarah. Not only did God promise Abraham a son, He also promised that his descendants would be a great nation. The Bible says in Genesis 15:6 “Abraham believed in the Lord.”

However by Genesis 16 the Bible says that Sarah had borne Abraham no children. This is where we see them both take matters into their own hands. Sarah then gives Abraham her Maidservant, Hagar. Abraham, who previously “believed” in God’s promise agreed with this proposal and had a child with Hagar.

When the focus becomes the delay as opposed to what God has promised, you will end up discouraged. Not waiting on God can result in you making wrong decisions and wrong love choices.

Patience, however is the ability to accept that some things just take time. God will always strengthen us and give us courage during our waiting period.

“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

~ Psalms 27:14 ~

#2: Patience with People:

Last week we spoke about loving people and a big part of this is having patience with people. This is something that I personally struggle with especially when disappointed.

There was a time where I was notoriously known for cutting people off as soon as they started acting up. I would give no word of a warning, because in my mind they already knew what they had done wrong.

Even during the time of writing this blog post I was dealing with feelings of losing patience with people, so this message is not only encouragement to myself but to you also. Yes, people will get on your nerves and some people will not always understand what you are going through but be patient with them anyway.

“with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,”

~ Ephesians 4:2 ~

So how do we develop patience in relationships or when we have to wait for something? These are some of the things that I have learnt over the years.

1. Pursue Patience.

“…and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”

~ 1 Timothy 6:11 ~

In order to pursue patience, you have to make it a conscious effort. When dealing with a difficult friend/ family member, go out of your way to extend patience to them. This way they will see the love of Christ in you.

2. Pray!

Praying for patience can be one of the most dangerous prayers that you could ever pray. I experienced this for the first time in 2014 where one of my prayer points was to have more patience with people. Immediately things began to go wrong and I believed that the devil had sent people to harass my life.

No matter what, pray anyway as these circumstances will perfect you and He will build up Godly character inside of you.

3. Never Forget That God Has Been Patient Towards You.

“and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,”

~ 2 Peter 3:15 ~

Every day we let God down, however He remains patient because of the love He has towards us. Without His patience, Jesus would of never made it to the cross, and we would have never been able to experience the gift of His salvation.

4. Trust God.

During times of waiting it is easy to lose hope, however trust that God will work everything out according to His timing.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.”

~ Psalms 130:5 ~

I hope this message has blessed you.

Love Nkay

xoxo