9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (5) Fruit of Patience
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November 21, 2021 |
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 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Gal. 5:22-23
If we endure everything in goodness, we’ll be able to overcome hardships with hope. As a result, we will have a broader heart. Even if we’re wrongfully accused, we will just try to let the other person clear the misunderstanding. If we can reach this level, the words ‘patience’ or ‘forgiveness’ won’t be necessary. This state is what spiritual patience is like.
There is also patience in the Love Chapter (1 Cor. 13). That patience is the patience needed to cultivate love. The patience as in one of the fruits of the Spirit is higher than that in the Love Chapter. It is patience about everything. Let's take a closer look at this fruit of patience.
1. Fruit of Patience
1) Patience to Change One's Heart
The more evil we have in our heart, the more difficult it is to be patient. If we have anger, arrogance, greed, and self-righteousness, we will easily get provoked and have hard feelings. However, to the extent that we cast away sins and evil and cultivate holiness, it becomes easy to be patient. We’ll be able to forgive and understand without having to suppress hard feelings.
Luke 8:15 says, “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Those who have good soil can be patient until they bear fruit.
For us to cultivate our heart and make it good soil, hard effort and endurance is necessary. We have to pray fervently and fast and make ourselves obedient. We should quit what we like if it is not spiritually beneficial. We must not stop mid-way just because it is hard.
We have to continually pray to change our heart until the sin natures are cast out. We must patiently try looking forward to the time of seeing ourselves transformed. When we cultivate holiness with faith in this way, all things will prosper and we will be healthy, even as our soul prospers.
2) Patience with Regards to People
When people with different personalities and educations congregate, they might have some difficulties. Especially in a church that is a place where many different kinds of people gather, peace might be broken due to different opinions. However, those who long for holiness will maintain peace in any situation and with any kind of person. They serve others even if it means they have to suffer discomfort.
They always understand others and serve others’ interests with a good heart. Even if others act out in evil, they don’t pay it back with evil but only with goodness. We also need to be patient when we spread the gospel and care for the souls. We should be patient with them with the hope that they will someday change.
As we sow the seeds of patience in this way, we will definitely reap the fruit in God’s justice. As we pray for the souls with tears and patience until they change, we’ll be able to have a broad heart to accept many people. It means we will get the authority to save many souls. It’s the power to change their hearts through the prayer of the righteous. If we sow the seed of patience in any unfavorable situation, God will let us reap the fruit of blessing.
3) Patience with Regards to God
Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” God gave us many promises that He’d answer us.
However, in many cases we don’t receive the answer because we’re not patient enough. God knows everything, so He answers us at the most appropriate time. If we’re asking for something big, we have to fill the amount of prayer to get the answer.
Daniel began to pray to receive the interpretation of spiritual things. God answered him as soon as he started his prayers. However, it took 21 days until Daniel actually received the answer.
Daniel prayed with an unchanging heart for 21 days. If we genuinely believe we’ve already received the answer, it is not hard to be patient, because we'll think of the joy that we’ll have when we receive the answer.
James 1:6-8 says, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
The important thing is how much trust we had in God when asking Him. If we really believe in receiving the answer, we’ll be happy in any situation. We’ll just keep on praying with faith until we have God’s answer in our hands. Also, when we go through trials of heart or persecutions for the Lord’s sake, patience is absolutely necessary for us to bear good fruit.
2. Fathers of Faith with Patience
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”
Jesus suffered all kinds of mockeries and contempt coming from those He created. However, because He knew that He would sit on the right hand of God and that salvation would come to all mankind, He endured all the contempt and shame.
He died on the cross taking the sin of all mankind, and opened the way of salvation by resurrecting on the 3rd day. As He fulfilled the duty of the Savior, He sat on the right hand of God as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
How was it with Jacob? He was on the run from his brother Esau for his life. And while he was sleeping with a rock for a pillow, he had a God-given dream. He kept it in mind and endured the 20-year trials to finally become the father of all Israelites.
Jacob's son Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt by his half-brothers. He was wrongfully accused and put in prison. However, he was never disheartened. He believed in God’s promise given through his dream in his childhood. He trusted in God who was always watching him. He firmly believed in His love. He never lost his hope and endured while showing faithfulness in all things. Finally, he became the prime minister of Egypt.
David had many life-threatening situations running away from King Saul, but he endured with faith and made himself into a big enough vessel to an excellent king.
James 1:3-4 says, “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I hope you will cultivate perfect patience. That endurance will increase your spiritual faith and broaden and mature your heart. You will definitely experience God's blessing and answer if we cultivate patience completely.
Dear brothers and sisters, Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” There certainly is toil, tears, and sorrow when we sow the seeds and grow them. However, at the end is the joy of harvest.
God endured the pain of giving up His only begotten Son in order to gain true children with whom He could share true love forever. The Lord also endured the cross, and the Holy Spirit also endures for us with groanings too deep for words. May you remember the love of the Triune God and cultivate complete patience, so that you will get abundant harvest not only on this earth but also in the kingdom of heaven, I pray this in the name of the Lord.
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