It's the second Friday of the month...the unofficial designated day to write to your sponsored kids!
I've started a series of "what to write" posts on the topic of the Fruit of the Spirit. In case you missed them, you can find them here...
and now for PATIENCE
Dear
How are you? It is with great joy that I sit down to write
another letter to you. I am always so thankful that we have the opportunity to
communicate with one another through letters.
In my most recent letters I’ve been sharing with you my
thoughts on each fruit of the Spirit that is listed in Galatians 5:22…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
In this
letter I’ll be talking about PATIENCE.
What does it mean to be patient? I think being patient means that you are able
to wait for something without getting worried, excited or anxious about it. You
are waiting without complaining. Personally, I don’t think it’s easy to be
patient about most things. Waiting can be very hard! But there are several
verses in the Bible that instruct us to be patient.
One of my
favorites is Colossians 3:12 - Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Also
in James 5:7 - Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See
how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting
for the autumn and spring rains.
I
truly believe God is patient with us. When I read through the Bible I can see
very clearly that God gave the people of Israel many chances to repent of their
ways and obey Him. He does the same for me. When I fall into sin, He is waiting
patiently for me to repent so He can forgive me.
The
older I get, the easier it is to be patient and wait, even when we have to wait
longer than we want to. One thing that has helped me learn to wait is knowing
that God is in control and that His timing is better than my timing. I might
want something right now, but God knows it will be better for me to have to
wait. He doesn’t want us to worry. He doesn’t want us to complain. He doesn’t
want us to be anxious. He wants us to be patient.
What
do you think about patience? Is it hard for you to wait without complaining?
God will help you if you simply ask Him for help. Just pray and ask God to help
you learn to be patient. He will probably give you all sorts of little
opportunities to practice being patient. You might fail and start worrying or
complaining, but if you keep praying and practicing, you’ll learn to be
patient.
