Can I Develop More Patience?

2 Peter 1:3-7

Message No. 0778 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

Preview

Can we learn to be patient? This week we show that it is possible to be more patient than we are now. We can learn by experience and by reading relevant portions of the Bible. No one is doomed to impatience. With little steps in our daily activities, we can become patient and teach others to do the same. God bless you as you read!

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Text

In 2 Peter 1:3-7, the Bible says:

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

The divine nature referred to in the above text is for us to conform to God’s design for our lives. He did not design us to take rash decisions or take decisions without thinking. He did not design us to act without knowledge or without wisdom. God designed His children to be patient (self-control as indicated in the above text), and to persevere, which is another word for patience.

Most things in life require patience. You don’t plant a crop today and harvest it tomorrow. You don’t sow a seed today and expect it to grow and bear fruits tomorrow. Without patience, most things will be ruined. Businesses will lose money, relationships will be damaged, and families will be in turmoil. Without patience, lives will be in danger, as we saw last week in the story of the worst aviation disaster in recorded history. Just a few minutes of patience could have saved more than 500 lives in that single accident.

The question for this week is, can I develop more patience? In other words, can I learn to be more patient? As you would imagine, the answer is a Big Yes. Patience can be learned through experience. If you want to know, the next time you want to drink green tea, just boil water in your kettle to 100 degree celsius, then pour it on the tea bag in a mug, and hurriedly begin to take large sips from the mug. You do not need your mom to stop you from doing that, the effect of the hot water in your mouth and throat will teach you that you must never do that again.

In our world today where everyone wants to do everything in microwave speed, we can learn a lesson in patience from the Chinese bamboo tree. The seed of this tree is planted and the farmer begins to water it. However, unlike other “normal” trees whose seed will develop quickly and we can begin to see the tree spring up within a short time, the Chinese bamboo tree stays silent in the ground for four years without any sign of life and without any indication to the farmer that it will ever come out. On the fifth year, the tree suddenly shows up out of the ground, and grows 90 feet tall within five weeks! 

The truth is, the seed had started growing underground and started strengthening its roots all four years, without any apparent sign over ground. Without the four years of preparation to make its roots strong and firm in the ground, it would not have withstood the 90 feet growth that took place within five weeks. If the farmer had been impatient in month 1, year 1, 2, 3, and 4, there would not have been a tree, because he would have rooted it out and destroyed his labour. In the same vein, if we do not patiently develop maturity while waiting, we may not be able to handle the blessings that our God has in store for us.

In James chapter 5 verse 7, the Bible says:

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

We can all develop our patience, and we must, because this is the divine nature planted in us. Our environments often reshape people into what God did not design them to be, but children of God must be different. We must be patient, else we will be weary of waiting even for the appearance of our Lord, and this will rob us of eternity. In rushing, we often miss what God is saying or where the Lord is directing us towards. 

What to Do?

The next time there’s tendency for you to be impatient, take a deep breath and remember that the best decisions are taken when you stay calm and think.