By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

We live in a world of immediacy. Same-day shipping, someone answering a call after one ring, the next episode playing as soon as you finish the previous one. Everything has to happen right now, right now, right now.

That’s not how life actually works. Babies take nine months to grow in the womb. Surgeries can take several hours. A bachelor’s degree takes four years to complete. But instead of enjoying the process or the season, we want to jump straight to the finish line.

Patience isn’t merely a virtue; it’s a fruit of the Spirit. It’s a very good thing! There’s value in the waiting. We can learn as much from the journey as from the destination. By waiting for something to happen, we discover who we truly are. Someone who embodies patience will have an attitude of gratitude and curiosity. They understand that anything worth having is worth the wait. They trust that God has their best interests at heart, and that the delay is God’s way of teaching them something important.

Good Things Take Time

Life is full of seasons. In a romantic relationship, there’s a season of dating, a season of engagement, a season of being newlyweds, a season of marriage. Yet so often we want to rush straight to the wedding. We fail to appreciate each unique season. I’m guilty of this, too. Patience is not my strong suit. I pray a lot for God to give me patience because it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m eager to get to the event or the final product and I don’t always want to wait.

The Bible says a lot about patience. Remember how long the Israelites waited before they were freed from slavery in Egypt and made it to the Promised Land? Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah waited for years before they became mothers. God often asks us to be patient. Paul even talks about it in his letter to the Romans: “But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25). I certainly feel convicted. How about you? Do you wait with patience?

Don’t worry if you answered “no” to that question. Patience requires cultivation. Weeding the garden of your heart is step one. The heart is where your attitude comes from, and if your attitude towards patience is negative, that’s where you want to start. Ask the Lord to soften your heart, to open you to the lessons God wants you to learn in the waiting period. Be honest about why you’re impatient. Maybe you’re impatient for a health issue to be resolved or to hear about a work promotion. Your feelings are valid, but they are feelings, not fruit. Feelings change; God never does. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit is also unchanging. Since patience is a fruit, once you are able to bear it, it will never change.

Trust is the Foundation

Trust is the Foundation

For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.

Hebrews 6:10-12

Faith and perseverance are another way to describe patience. Our forefathers and foremothers exhibited patience. We know because it’s evident in their stories. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, the ones who came before us claimed their Godly inheritance because they waited for it. They kept the faith. They overcame trials and tribulations. They knew the reward was great, so they endured through the journey until they arrived at the destination.

Okay, I’ve thrown a lot of abstract concepts about patience at you. Let’s bring it together. How in the world does patience actually work? Through trust. When you trust in God, you will become patient. Our foremothers and forefathers trusted in God. They praised the Lord when they reached their destinations, when goals were achieved, when prayers were answered, but they also praised God before any of those things happened. Hannah is my favorite Biblical example of trust and patience. After years of infertility and shame, she poured her heart out to God, and then she went home, trusting that she would one day bear a son but content to wait however long it took for that to happen.

That is how we demonstrate patience as a fruit in our lives, by showing the world our trust in Jesus. We surrender our desires to Him and move forward with our lives. We set an example for believers and non-believers alike, that we are content with what we have now and where we are now, even while we wait for changes. Contentment in the here and now. That is patience, friend.

Worth the Wait

It’s okay if you’re not currently a patient person. Patience is something you can cultivate with the help of the Holy Spirit. And don’t stress if it doesn’t happen overnight. That’s kind of the point. It’ll take time.

Pay attention to what’s happening while you wait. New people may enter your life, new opportunities may present themselves, or new adventures may pop up. You don’t want to miss out on life because you were impatient to reach the finish line.