What does the Bible say about patience?
You will not get through your Christian walk of faith without patience. Many people in Scripture made poor choices because of their lack of patience. Familiar names are Saul, Moses, and Samson. If you don’t have patience you’re going to open the wrong door.
Many believers are paying for their lack of patience. God intervenes in the situation, but we are fighting with God to do our own will when He is trying to protect us.
God says you want it and you don’t want to listen go ahead. The Israelites were impatient and didn’t allow the Lord to work in their situation.
God gave them the food that they wanted in full until it was coming out of their nostrils. Impatience draws us away from God. Patience draws us closer to God revealing a heart that trusts and is confident in the Lord.
God rewards patience and it strengthens our faith. Having patience can be hard, but it’s in our weaker moments where God reveals His strength.
Christian quotes about patience
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Augustine
“Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”
“Some of your greatest blessings come with patience.” – Warren Wiersbe
“You can’t rush something you want to last forever.”
“Just because it’s not happening right now, doesn’t mean it never will.”
“Be careful about rushing God’s timing. You never know who or what He is protecting you or saving you from.”
“Don’t count the days make the days count.“
“Humility and patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love.” – John Wesley
“The fruit of patience in all its aspects – long-suffering, forbearance, endurance, and perseverance – is a fruit that is most intimately associated with our devotion to God. All character traits of godliness grow out of and have their foundation in our devotion to God, but the fruit of patience must grow out of that relationship in a particular way.” Jerry Bridges
“Patience is a vibrant and virile Christian virtue, which is deeply rooted in the Christian’s absolute confidence in the sovereignty of God and in God’s promise to bring all things to completion in a way that most fully demonstrates His glory.” Albert Mohler
Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit
You need patience when things aren’t going your way. You need patience when that boss gets on your last nerve. You need patience when you’re running late to work and the driver in front of you is driving like a grandma and you just want to scream at them in anger.
We need patience when we know someone has been slandering us and sinning against us. We need patience when debating matters with others.
We even need patience when we are teaching others and they keep on getting off track. We need patience in our everyday lives. We have to learn how to let go and let God work in us to calm us. Sometimes we have to pray to the Spirit for help with patience for dealing with a certain situation.
1. Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”
2. Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 “And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.”
4. Ephesians 4:2-3 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us.”
5. James 1:19 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
God stills, but Satan makes you rush and make ungodly and unwise choices.
We have to learn Satan’s voice vs God’s voice. Look at this first verse. Satan was rushing Jesus. He was basically saying this is an opportunity to receive the blessings of the Father. He was rushing Jesus to do something instead of thoroughly examining everything and trusting in the Father. This is what Satan does to us.
Sometimes we have an idea in our head and we rush and pursue the idea instead of waiting on an answer from the Lord. Sometimes we pray for things and we see something that seems similar to our prayer. Know that it is not always from God. For example, you pray for a spouse and you find someone who professes to be Christian, but is not truly Christian.
We must be patient because Satan can give you what you prayed for, but it is always a perversion of what you prayed for. If you’re not patient you will rush and you will hurt yourself. Many pray for things such as houses and cars at a good price. When you don’t have patience you can rush and buy that house for a good deal or that car for a good deal, but there might be problems that you didn’t know about.
Satan sometimes puts what we have been praying for in front of us because we think they are from God. We must be still. Don’t rush into every decision which can lead to a lot of mistakes. Don’t pray and do what you want to do. Don’t pray and say God didn’t say no so I guess it’s His will. Be still and wait on the Lord. Trust in Him. What is meant for you will be there for you. There is no need to rush.
6. Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone. “
7. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
8. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
We must not start doing our own thing.
Many people say God is taking too long and they rush into things. Then, they end up in a terrible situation and blame God. God why didn’t you help me? Why didn’t you stop me? God was working, but you didn’t allow Him to work. God knows what you don’t know and He sees what you don’t see.
He never takes too long. Stop thinking that you are smarter than God. If you don’t wait on God you can end up in ruin. Many people are bitter and angry at God because really they are angry at themselves. I should have waited. I should have been patient.
9. Proverbs 19:3 “The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the LORD.”
10. Proverbs 13:6 “Godliness guards the path of the blameless, but the evil are misled by sin.”
Patience involves love.
God is patient towards man. Mankind commits the vilest sins before a Holy God every day and God allows them to live. Sin grieves God, but God waits for His people with kindness and patience. When we are patient that is a reflection of His great love.
We are patient when we tell our kids something 300 times over and over again. God is patient with you and He has had to tell you something 3000 times over and over again. God’s patience towards us it to a greater degree than our patience towards friends, co-workers, our spouse, our kids, strangers, etc.
11. 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
12. Romans 2:4 “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
13. Exodus 34:6 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.”
14. 2 Peter 3:15 “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”
We need patience in prayer.
Not only do we need patience while we wait to receive what we have been praying for, but we need patience while waiting on the presence of God. God is looking for those who are going to seek Him until He comes. Many people pray oh Lord come down, but before He comes they give up on their search for Him.
We must not give up in prayer. Sometimes you have to keep knocking on God’s door for months or years until God finally says OK enough here it is. We must endure in prayer. Perseverance shows how bad you want something.
15. Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.”
16. Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
17. Psalm 40:1-2 “For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
David was dealing with adversity all around him, but there was a confidence in him that most know nothing about. His hope was in God alone.
In his huge trial he had confidence in the Lord that God would hold him, keep him, and deliver him. David trusted in the Lord that he would see His goodness. That special confidence that he had sustained him. It only comes from trusting in the Lord and being alone with Him in prayer.
Most people do like a 5 minute ritual before they go to bed, but how many people actually go to a lonely place and get alone with Him? John the Baptist was alone with the Lord for 20 years. He never struggled with patience because he was alone with the Lord trusting in Him. We must seek His presence. Be still and wait in silence.
18. Psalm 27:13-14 “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
19. Psalm 62:5-6 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.”
Sometimes it’s so hard to be patient when we have our eyes on everything but the Lord.
It is so easy for us to be envious of the wicked and start compromising. God says be patient. Many Christian women see that ungodly women are attracting men by dressing immodestly so instead of being patient on the Lord many Christian women take matters into their own hands and dress sensually. This can happen to anyone about anything.
Take your eyes off of the distractions around you and put them on the Lord. When you are so focused on Christ you will not be focused on other things.
20. Psalm 37:7 “Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.”
21. Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Trials increase our patience and help conform us into the image of Christ.
How can we expect our patience to increase when we are not put in a situation that requires patience and waiting on the Lord?
When I first became a Christian I went through trials with a dull attitude, but I noticed that as I grew stronger in the faith I would go through trials with a more positive attitude and with more joy. Don’t say why this Lord. Everything that you go through in life is doing something. You might not see it, but it is not meaningless.
22. Romans 5:3-4 “And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”
As a Christian, you are going to need patience as you wait on the Lord’s coming.
This life is a long journey filled with ups and downs and you’re going to need patience to endure. You’re going to have some great times, but you are also going to have some bad times. We need to be filled with the Lord.
We need to be filled with things of the spirit and not things of the flesh which will hinder our patience. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Readjust your prayer life, Bible Study, fasting, etc. You need to pray not only for more patience, but the ability to glorify God and to have joy while you wait.
23. Hebrews 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
24. James 5:7-8 “Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
25. Colossians 1:11 “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.”
Thank you for this. What a precious perspective. I used this for devotions for my kids this morning. Thank you!
I am the first to admit that I have and have never had much patience. I saw this and loved it and wanted to use it as a devotional for our weekly ladies bible study. I thought surely there are more than me that have not much or no patience and this might help them too. Thank you for putting this out there for us to read. Believe me it helps me to look at things differently and godly.
I really need help with patience but YAH Our Heavenly Father has been working on me, it’s not easy but I know everything will be fine, I love your Bible Reasons, so wonderful, thank you guys for all your lovely work.