But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things. –Galatians 5:22-23
It should have been easier. I was at the store waiting in line impatiently …counting the items of the person in front of me…contemplating turning them into the cashier for having too many items. I wish I were a more patient person.
We all have things that trigger our impatience. Maybe for you it’s traffic, or kids, or being late, or a messy house. Here are two big enemies of patience:
1. Overload. We try to cram too much activity into our schedules and this results in a lifestyle that has no margin. It leaves no breathing room. When we find ourselves running behind, it breeds impatience. When you live a life with no margin, any little mismanagement or unforeseen circumstance can result in losing your patience.
2. Unrealistic Expectations. Many of us place high expectations on those closest to us. Typically, these people are our spouse, kids, and closest friends. Then, when they don’t live up to our expectations, we grow impatient. But, the truth is that people cannot possibly live up to every expectation (many of which are unspoken) that we place on them. People aren’t perfect and sooner or later, they won’t live up to our expectations.
I wish there were some easy answers for resolving these enemies to patience. These are issues that all of us continue to wrestle with throughout our lives. I know I do.
The bottom line is that we need to continually pursue the reign of God’s kingdom in our lives, where we say, “Not my will Lord, but Yours.” When we do this, we begin to see new options for how we can respond. When someone smacks our face, we can turn and give them the other cheek.
Each day we face choices. We can choose to embrace overload and unrealistic expectations, or we can embrace God’s kingdom. As we seek His kingdom, patience grows. As we gaze at God, we change. Our choice to be patient changes us, and it changes others as well.
Today, choose patience.
Blessings,
Thora
Amen!
Amen!! This couldn’t be more true. I find that when life is getting crazy and I’m ready to lose my patience, I have to step back for a few minutes and re-assess what I have in front of me. I will then look at something and just ask myself, “do I really need to do this today? or can it wait?” Chances are, it can wait. Step back, take a deep breath and ask God for direction. That’s the only answer. Thanks Thora!!