Sheree Falzon
When I heard that I was going to be talking on this subject I thought ‘Wow, that’s perfect for me and what God has been leading me through lately’. Being trialed in some tough areas of my life I really felt that he was growing my patience. I discovered that also when Charlie all of a sudden started to throw the 2year old tantrums out of know where!
Now for starters, I’ll answer an easier question, what is patience?
The English dictionary states:
Patience (pā-shəns) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast
The Greek word for patience is Hypomone, which is made up of two other words. Hypo which means ‘under’ and moneo which means ‘remain’ or ‘abide’. So patience is to remain under and abide while under hard circumstances, when it is not possible to escape or avoid them. Patience is the ability to endure.
Patience may denote calm, self-possessed, and un- repining bearing of pain, misfortune, annoyance, or delay. It describes a person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint.
- So in theory we know what patience means, what about in practical, in life? And in our walk with Christ?
Patience is needed every day of our lives. For example: waiting for important news, waiting in line, sitting in a traffic jam, or those from Sunbury would know the road works on vineyard road! We NEED patience for every single thing we do in life, I mean the little things as well, like cleaning or cooking tea, at work on the computer (you need a great deal of patience with computers! I discovered that when typing this sermon!) , And of course one big one is waiting for a baby to come along! Which Nickie and myself experienced not that long ago!
Margaret Thatcher once said “I am extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end” We can be extremely patient when things are going ‘our’ way. It’s when things are turned upside down that we are truly tested on how patient we are.
- So the next question is why do we need patience?
Imagine if humans had no patience at all…. Nothing, not one thing ever would get done or happen because we couldn’t be bothered even waiting one minute for it, or everyone would do things out of compulsion and things would never be done correctly or safely. So it’s a pretty important part of our everyday lives and a major part of us as humans. We need patience to get through the smallest things in everyday life to the greater disasters and challenges we encounter along the way.
As a parent I believe patience is something that needs to be taught to us at a young age, Now I am sure there would be many people out there who would probably disagree with my beliefs however when talking about raising children its always going to happen. Even from an infant stage like little Josh’s age and younger, learning to be patient starts from then. Teaching a baby to wait for its milk until the right time (gently, without letting it get distressed etc) A child learning to wait to play with a new toy until you get home, Eating the vegetables before the sweets come out and more, a baby will very quickly adapt and learn making it so much easier for them and the parents from that stage onwards and is often reflected in the coming years whether they had early teaching in patience or not.
At an age of two like Charlie’s age I have noticed him getting frustrated if something doesn’t do what he wants etc. eg: the other day he was trying desperately to put his match box cars onto the back of another truck, not all of them would fit and they kept falling off. I was in the other room and all I could hear was him growling and crying and things banging around. It’s a normal part of a child’s development to experience this and is needed for them to learn how to problem solve and learn patience. Now imagine a child who doesn’t get to experience this may have parents or guardians that always jump in and do things for them or fix it for them. This child doesn’t get to experience frustration and learn to problem solve themselves, someone else usually does it for them. They miss the opportunity to have patience in these most important times in childhood. As a teenager it’s very much the same, learning to solve issues and frustrations like exams, friendships, school, new jobs and massive changes in life. As adults and/or parents it’s important to help children and teenager’s problem solve and be patient with situations.
- The other day I was out the front of my house and a family walked passed a mother father and their two kids. The father was falling behind a lot with the little girl who was very obviously learning how to ride her bike. Now they came to the intersection and she struggled to stop the bike and kind of fell off just before she hit the road, she was upset but got back on very reluctantly. After crossing the road the little girl realized there was a huge hill to go down on the other side and she was terrified. She got off her bike and wanted to walk down however the father wanting to catch up to the mother was very angry and upset wanting her to ride down the hill. He was showing great impatience with the girl and she was balling her eyes out. I went inside not knowing what happened and thinking of how an episode like this could affect a child and what they are like when their older. A child who could experience this may never choose to ride a bike again when their older because of the fear that occurred, Could struggle to be around impatient people for fear of being forced into something, Could take on the impatient as being ‘normal’ and model that in their lives and to their children which is extremely common not only with impatience, So many more repercussions I can’t name them all. It shows just how important we are as parents or adults just how we react to situations and whether we
A child who has a good experience with an adult that has patience would feel safe, not out of control, or fearful. This child would replicate these actions; we would hope anyway and apply it to their own lives even as a young child.
It’s all reflected in our adult years whether we were given opportunities to have patience or not, now our parents were not perfect and we are not perfect, no one is except Jesus of course so we’re never going to always get it right. That’s where Jesus comes in, helping teach us patience because he is our father and us as children still need to be taught how to handle tough situations.
- As Christians we are meant to reflect Jesus and walk in his ways. Jesus is incredibly patient on a level that we find hard to comprehend. It’s hard in our sinful nature to reflect it to that level however this is why Jesus is always stretching us and growing our patience, so we become more like him.
Importantly, we need patience to do Gods will and to live like Christ in this fallen world. God will allow us to go through trials, each one testing us differently and helping us to grow more.
It says in
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.
Becoming a Christian does not automatically exclude a believer from difficulties. The proper attitude in meeting troubles is to ‘count it all joy’, this doesn’t mean an actual emotional ‘joy’ however a deliberate appraisal of the situation from Gods perspective (so seeing the situation through Gods eyes), viewing trials as a means of moral and spiritual growth. We do not actually rejoice in the trials themselves but in their possible results. Patience isn’t a passive recognition of tough circumstances and troubles it’s a positive steadfastness that bravely endures! Only under the pressure of trials can the believer test the true depth of his faith in God. The established Christian heart will not waver, but will rejoice in the knowledge of the goodness of God.
A good example of someone suffering and standing firm in faith and patience is Job. Job was a child of God; He was a man who was extremely blessed by the Lord with great wealth, family and land. Now it happened that Satan tested the Lord and basically said to God that Job wouldn’t stay true to the Lord and would walk away from him if he was put under horrible circumstances.
Job 1:13-22
So the Lord knowing Jobs faith said okay I give you Job but spare his life. So God allowed Job to go through major suffering from losing his great property, servants, animals, his children (7 boys and 3 girls), and then his health suffering boils over his body from head to toe. He grieved greatly for these however he knew that he was not being punished and stood in his love and faith for the Lord. Undergoing terrible circumstances but enduring with patience and hope, abiding still in the Lord.
Next time you encounter a difficult circumstance or are faced with longer-term difficulties, what will you do? Crush under the pressure, lose faith in God or even get angry at God? He is strong and can handle that J However try and see things from Gods eyes next time, even with the tiny little things that can make us impatient. Have a read and Think about the story of Job and what he suffered and why God allowed it to happen. It’s forced me to ask questions like why am I really getting upset here? Is it going to help the situation at all? Who else am I affecting with my impatience? Is God testing my faith in this situation?
Psalm 37:5-8
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause lie the noonday sun.
God keeps us in ‘training’ pretty much all the time in our Christian walk. Now this is not to annoy us or punish us in any way. He has his perfect timing and a time for everything. God is good and only wants good for us, so him teaching us patience is for our own good and for the good of those we will affect in our lives’. This is so we can handle more and harder situations and people, for the glory of his kingdom.
I’m going to finish on that note, and pass you on to Peta who will now talk on the next aspect of spiritual fruit ‘kindness’
Thank you
