Welcome to the Cultivating Growth podcast, where each week we tackle a topic in which we can grow as followers of Christ. And this week we are going to talk about the importance of growing in patience.  Patience is a virtue that each of us as followers of Jesus must seek to embody. So we're going to discuss some ways in which we can apply some of those principles to our lives today as Christians.

With that, let's get to it. 

Well, John, much like a lot of the other things that we've talked about over the You know, last several weeks when it comes to cultivating our growth. Patience is one where just like a lot of other things we could say, I could use some work on that, right? It's, you know, it's very similar to a lot of the other things that we've talked about.

But you know, when you talk about, you know, patience, it's, it is usually one of those things where pretty much everybody's is going to say that there are moments in life where Where I look back and I could have easily been more patient in that capacity or in that circumstance or been more patient with that person or been more patient with God.

And so, you know, we'll talk a little bit about, you know, all of those. The Bible actually has a lot to say, you know, about patience. And, you know, we're not going to take the time to kind of, you know, dive into the, you know, kind of different uses, you know, of that word. But, you know, just to kind of throw a lot of them out, even though they're not the exact same word, there are a lot of words that are, you know, Pretty closely related, whether it be patience, or perseverance, or endurance, or long suffering.

You know, those kinds of words are used throughout Scripture a lot. And, um,  and like I said, even though they're not exactly the same word all the time, they are really, really closely related. And I think that they all really point us into, you know, kind of a similar, a similar place. I kind of want to start, we're going to break it up into a couple different pieces, and talking about our patience.

But, you know, kind of like we've done multiple times, it behooves us to look to God and to learn from Him as He is the most perfect in every way. And the Bible talks about even His patience. 2 Peter 3 is a great example of that, when Peter is talking, you know, about the fact that he has promised that his son, that Christ, will return, and even though there will be scoffers about that, he says, don't, you know, don't Don't in any way think that God has forgotten, or that God is neglecting in some way.

No, He is patient. He is long suffering. And so just like He is love, just like He is all of those many things, He is long suffering. And so because of that, we need to strive as well. And that is evident throughout the book. The biblical story, especially when you think about, uh, the Old Testament is the people of Israel, they tested God so frequently and so frequently they would turn their backs on God and, and he continued to be patient with them and to be long suffering with them.

I dare say long after any of us would have given up on them. He continued to, to be steadfast in his love and, and his desire to see them succeed and to be the kind of people that he called them to be. And it's just such a good example of, uh, our creator, uh, the all powerful God being so patient with his creation and then.

Far too often, I can't be patient with the person standing next to me. And it is such a disappointment to myself when I am able to take a step back and realize how patient God has been with me and then how little patience I just demonstrated towards the person next to me, and certainly You know, as, as a parent, uh, we get many lessons in patience with our children and it's, uh, far too easy to have a short temper or to lose patience with them. 

And it makes me think about, uh, the parable that Jesus tells, we oftentimes think of this from, uh, the financial aspect of it, but of, of the debtor who owes this massive sum of money. And they could never possibly be repaid and the king forgives him the forgives him of that debt And then as soon as that debt is forgiven of that individual He goes out and finds somebody that owes him just a little bit of money And he throws him in jail and demands payment on that little sum of money that he is owed and I think There's application to be made there to patients as well, because how often are we shown extraordinary amounts of patience by God as time and time again, we have let him down and he continues to be patient and long suffering with us.

And then we're so quickly. We lose our temper and we can't demonstrate that same level of patience. And it makes me think of that parable and, and snaps me back into reality and reminds me, I need to be the kind of person who is just endlessly patient the way that God has been with me. Well, I mean, you know, also the parable of the lost son, uh, that, you know, Luke tells us of, you know, The father certainly representing God, the father, and his son who is strayed, and the picture of God patiently waiting.

And the excitement, certainly, that comes from when that son pops on the horizon. But the picture is of a God who is patient. And I think, so now the point has been made that this is the direction that he wants us to be. And it's not just You know, that I need to be patient in certain circumstances, or I need to be patient with certain people.

It is a lifestyle that God has called us to adopt, that we are to be patient. And that's kind of how he talked about it. You know, it's a couple of kind of striking passages to me. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, you know, Paul kind of gets into a little bullet pointy, you know, kind of, uh, rhythm, you know, kind of towards the end of that, that chapter, and he has a lot of different things specifically to say, but when he's talking about people specifically, he, even though he makes mention of  Lifting up some various, uh, you know, individuals, he'll end that verse there in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 14 with just the phrase or the sentence, be patient to all.

And so, you know, he's letting us know that it's not about picking and choosing, you know, when it's the easiest to be patient, it is that we are to be patient. Uh, Paul will use in the book of Romans, and he'll kind of paint the picture of how, um, Just valuable it is into our life when we think about, you know, the importance of character or the importance of hope.

He ties all of those things together when he says, listen, Difficulty is tribulation. You need to be, you need to be patient because perseverance that builds character and character ultimately builds hope. And so in that equation where hope is gotten to and we're all interested in that, Perseverance or patience is playing a role.

You know, you you were talking there just a moment ago about You know, the being patient with those close to us as well as those that maybe we're strangers with. And I think sometimes, unfortunately, at least in my own personal experience, I'm sometimes better at being patient with people that I don't know very well.

I'm, I'm willing to extend a little bit more leeway to them than I am to those that I'm closest to, and, and that just simply is not the way that it should be. I should be patient to all, as you just said. And Paul writes in, in Colossians chapter three, he says, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved put on tender mercies and kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another.

And so he specifically calls attention to not just being long suffering, but bearing with one another. As brothers and sisters in Christ, make sure you're extending that patience to those that you're closest to those that you see most frequently, those that you love the most. And sometimes that those are the people that it requires a little bit more effort on our part to be patient with.

We, we sometimes tend to, I, I, I sometimes tend to snap at my children much more quickly than I should. I need to make sure that those closest to me see me as a patient person, and someone who is truly long suffering and bearing with them in their shortcomings because I want them to bear with me in my shortcomings.

And, and again, you know, we talked last week about, uh, our generosity is a response to God's generosity that he's shown to us in much the same way. Patience should be as well. It should be a response to the patience that God has shown to us. Of course, I'm going to be patient with someone else because look at how patient God has been with me as I continue to try to grow and improve.

and work on some of my flaws. He's been so patient and long suffering with me. The least I can do is show the same patience to those around me. And I think one thing that could help that is coming to the realization that ultimately that level of patience that we're talking about is a by product of love because God.

is love because he has incredible love for man and for each of us he is therefore patient with us and that's really in a lot of ways the picture that you know is given to us so if we can lean into that and lean into that understanding that listen I am to love I'm to love the ones closest to me I'm to love the stranger I'm to love my enemies And if that's the case, patience is a byproduct of that.

And so that's why in passages that we're, you know, familiar with, like 1 Corinthians chapter 13, where Paul is kind of defining what love is, and, you know, even though we often use that at weddings, that talk about, you know, the love that spouses, you know, will have, and certainly it is the kind of love that spouses should have with one another.

In context, he's talking about the love that brethren need to have with one another. Even in deeper context, the love that brethren are struggling to be getting along with one another, the love that they're supposed to have. And in that definition he'll add, love suffers long, love believes all things, love bears all things.

All of those kinds of words  Point us in the direction of patience to all men. I think this is something that takes practice. I mean, it's something we have to work at and continually be mindful of. And don't let ourselves, uh, justify our way out of impatience. We, we need to make sure that we are, are being honest with ourselves.

And if we find ourselves being impatient, that, At least internally, we're calling attention to that. And we're making sure that there's an acknowledgement that that's not the type of person God wants me to be. I need to work on this and maybe even elicit the help of a spouse or a friend, or even a child that, Hey, if, if you see me, or if you feel as if I'm acting in an impatient manner,  let me know that.

Make me aware of that.  And certainly that can be done in a kind, loving way. Uh, but we need to make sure that we're helping each other reach these standards that God sets for us and not just kind of saying, well, that's just who John is. He's just kind of an impatient person. And then we move on with our lives.

No, I don't, I don't want to be that. And, and I, a Christian isn't someone who is okay with being impatient.  A Christian is someone who is, if that's a struggle for you, you're going to be. Working on it constantly. There's going to be effort given to growing in that area. And so that may mean asking people for their help and calling attention to it so that, you know, when you're falling short in those areas and can actually work on it, yeah, well, the last couple of minutes we have, let's switch gears just a little bit.

Because it's not about biblically, just our patience towards other people, certainly that's there, but also the patience that we really need to have with God. We made reference already, or I did, to 2 Peter chapter 3, in talking about God's, uh, patience, uh, Uh, that we need to be focusing and thinking about that.

And in that context, that's what it comes down to. It is allowing God to go to work on his time and allowing that he operates on his time, uh, regard irregardless of what our time is all about. And so we've got to be. trusting enough in God to wait on him, whether it be in our prayers, in our life, in the midst of difficulty, when we try to move things along a little bit quicker, you know, uh, and there are so many different stories that accentuate that.

Certainly Abraham and Sarah, uh, when it comes to, you know, Isaac and Ishmael is a good example to read and to talk about that. I know right now you're teaching from the book of Genesis and you're down, you know, towards the end of that book.  And there may not be any better example of someone who did wait and was patient with God than Joseph.

That's the whole back end of the book. Yep. Yeah. That is a great story and a great lesson in patience, you know, that. That story of Joseph, sometimes we can kind of hit the highlights of it, but from the time that he was sold into slavery to where he kind of rises to power in Egypt, there's about 13 to 15 years that have passed during that time period.

And in that time period, he's been thrown in jail for years, not, not just a weekend. I mean, for years. He was in jail and all of this coming after he had had these dreams where his brothers bowed down to him and He seemed to recognize that God had a plan for him in his life And then all of these bad things start happening to him and yet time and time again He he references God he points to God he trusts in God and he is he is ultimately patient In God's timing and good things happen to Joseph and good things happen to his family, but they all happen in God's time and not his.

And that's something I think all of us can grow in because we are wanting things to happen in our time. And in reality, we have to be able to take a step back and recognize, listen, God wants good for me. And he has a plan. I need to allow him  to work out that plan in whatever fashion he chooses to do, in whatever time frame he chooses to do so.

And that is difficult to do at times, but that is 100 percent an act of patience. And in Romans chapter 8, when Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, he says in verse 25, But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. And so we have this hope that you referenced a moment ago.

We have this hope in God, and we are eagerly waiting for it. There's excitement that's building around it, but we have to be patient. Because He's going to fulfill all of these things in His time, not mine. And so I'm called to be patient. I can be excited about it, I can look forward to it, I can certainly have the hope that I'm supposed to have, but ultimately, I need to be patient with God.

Well, let's close with this thought. Nobody has an issue with talking about the goodness of God and His wisdom. And He certainly understands that us being patient with people, even being patient with Him, is not always the easiest of things. Because a lot of times, we need the most patience. It's in times of difficulty.

Nobody understands that more than God does. He knows man because he has created us. And so what I love is a passage that we have in Isaiah chapter 40, where it is made mention of the importance of being patient with God, but yet at the same time there is a promise that God is going to help us in that time of waiting.

And so you have that beautiful passage in Isaiah chapter 40. The very last verse of that chapter will close with this in verse 31. Those who wait on the Lord. 

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Thanks again for joining us this week and we'll talk to you again next week.