Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Patience
One of the most important blessings that God provides for all believers who have accepted the gift of salvation by repenting of our sins and having faith in Jesus is the Holy Spirit. This is a gift that can help transform our hearts and minds to be more like Christ during our lifetime. We read about the Holy Spirit in many places in the Bible, but one place that is most prominent in the Bible is the day of Pentecost in the Book of Acts. In Chapter 2 of Acts, we see that Peter said to those present that day “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
I know that I have received a lot of gifts throughout my lifetime. Gifts of toys, clothes, money, a loving family and friends, and more; but they do not compare to the gift of the Holy Spirit from our Heavenly Father. I recently found an article from Dr. Charles Stanley of the In Touch Ministries. He had a good message concerning the importance of the Holy Spirit. Dr. Stanley wrote, “Even as christians, it’s possible for us to be unaware of one of God’s most awesome blessings. Although the Holy Spirit comes to indwell within us immediately upon salvation, God’s work within us takes a lifetime.” We are a work in progress like the children of a family who learn from their parents, family and friends. We should be thankful we have a Heavenly Father that gave us the Holy Spirit as a gift,
So what is the fruit of the Holy Spirit indwelling in us? How does this Fruit grow and get strong? We read the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
In saying this, Paul is contrasting the freedom of Christians who were former Jews. As a result of our salvation by faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they do not have to follow all the laws and rituals of the Old Testament that were being forced on them by the Pharisees and priests of that time.
I chose PATIENCE as the fruit I want to write about today. I can appreciate even more why God wants us to develop patience since I have been around very young children lately. I am amazed at how persistent all children are when they try to get what they want, even if it is not really necessary . A simple example is when a 3 year old wants to order a #1 Chick-Fil-A meal when the kids’ meal of chicken nuggets is all that he can eat. I can appreciate the patience of a father and mother of young ones, even more since I am only working with kids for a few hours…..not everyday, all day.
So then how do we develop and grow our patience…….you will certainly not find the answer in the numerous self-help books. We read in Chapter 1 of the book of James that trials come to us in so many ways to help in strengthening our faith and test our patience. Certainly this time of Covid-19 is testing us all in minor and major ways. I admire the parents who have to get their young children in front of a computer for a kindergarten day of lessons. Those kids need the interaction of other kids and the face to face time with teachers, so patience of learning with an online method will be tested for sure.
There are so many ways our patience is tested. The ultimate patience is from God in the mercy He shows us in the forgiveness of our sins. Is there a lesson in patience when dealing with forgiveness? Remember last week when we heard the words of Jesus when Peter asks how often we forgive my brother who sins against me…..7 times?” from MAtthew 18: 21-22. We see the mercy of God’s forgiveness in the answer….”I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” We are to learn to show patience with a forgiving heart as we show forgiveness toward others. It will probably take a lifetime to truly know the meaning of God’s patience. Patience requires us to endure and persevere in the major trials we will face and have faced in our journey. But seeking to grow and show our patience that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit will be so vital in the days and nights of our trials ahead. Next week another fruit…….Amen