Friday, June 12, 2015

June 13, 2015

"Love is patient. Love is kind." I Corinthians 13:4

The good news: God loves you with a perfect love!

More good news: God wants to give you His perfect love so He can love others to life through you!

The bad news: It takes patience to make it happen!

Have you struggled with your impatience?

Has your lack of patience cost you in relationships?

Are you impatient with your impatience?

If you identify with any of those statements or if you have lived with an impatient person you know how necessary patience is!

But the issue is, "How do I become a patient person?"

That is THE question isn't it?

There are at least a couple of popular notions about becoming patient that are, in fact, part of the problem.

Some think they can control their impatience if they just give it their full attention. They try things like:
  • Counting to 10
  • Bite their tongue
  • Throw a dollar in a jar
  • Pray for patience
  • Read the Bible more
One of those gimmicks may work occasionally but what usually happens when you fix your thoughts on something? When it is on your mind all the time it makes it harder to resist it, right?

Once they realize they can't control it they then try to conquer it by getting counseling or anger management training or some other self-help measure.

Attempts to control impatience or conquer it may help over the short-term but they are mis-guided in assuming that impatience is an emotional problem or a personality flaw when it is actually a spiritual problem.Or, more accurately, it is a lack of love because our Scripture text states - "Love is PATIENT".

What you need to understand is impatience isn't something you out grow or patience something you can grow into. Patience is a GIFT of grace given you by God when you stop trying to control it and trust Him to conquer it with HIS love!

When you receive God's love through receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit you receive His Holy character. Patience is one of the fruits of His Spirit, one of the facets of His nature. So is kindness. They are the manifest evidence that His "agape" love is resident in you!

Stop trying to gain it and allow God to give it to you.