Today we are continuing to look at the Fruit of the Spirit, as found in Galatians 5: 22-26:

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

Today’s fruit is one that I just don’t have.  Patience.  There are some that I find easier than others.  Some do not come easy at all.  Patience is one that is not easy, at least for me. I want things to happen right now. I don’t wait well.  I want action; I want to do it now and quickly. 

As one of my coaches told me a long time ago if you’re going to make a mistake, make it at full speed. I tend to go full speed at all times.  Now, I have slowed a bit, but I still don’t have patience.  

I think patience is naturally an outgrowth of faith. I also struggle with faith; some just have the gift of faith.  Others struggle with it, and I’m one of those.  Faith has never come easy to me, and I believe that is one of the reasons why patience has never come easy to me.  

When you have faith, you can have patience. Because when you have faith, you know it’s not up to you.  Faith is a turning over of control.  Faith calls us to understand that there are some things we control, yes, but there are a lot of things in life that we don’t control. And we have to trust. We have to trust.  We have to trust that it will all work for our good and for God’s glory. 

If we have faith, we can have the patience that God is at work in all things. If we have faith, we can have the patience that it will all work out in the end. Faith produces patience. 

Faith flows naturally from the Spirit working within us. It is the Spirit that calls us into faith; it is the Spirit that grows our faith, and it is the Spirit that produces patience.  

If you are desiring patience, focus on your faith. Learn to trust.  Trust in Jesus, His plan, His work. That faith, that trust, that will produce patience. 

Because when we have faith, we will naturally have that patience.  

I have more faith than I used to, so I have more patience than I used to. I am not yet where I need to be, but praise God; I’m further along than I used to be. 

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