Patience: The Fruit of the Spirit

“Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it into positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.”  Roy T. Bennett

One of my least favorite things to do is wait. To me, patience requires so much. I just can’t seem to wait in line at the grocery store, wait for someone to finish talking before I interrupt them and say what I want to say, wait in line to get my car washed, or wait for my computer to restart. Now that takes forever. Waiting and having patience is just so hard for me.

Several weeks ago, my friend asked me to pick her daughter up from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport. She was coming home for Thanksgiving break from college, my alma mater, Tuskegee University. I was glad to help. As I arrived at Delta terminal to pick up her daughter, I thought about how the years had passed. Deja was all grown up now. She wasn’t that two-year-old little baby girl that had come with her mom to visit me in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I still remember her having on her little navy snowsuit and boots, playing in the white fluffy snow that had fallen on the ground. She was now a freshman in college; a beautiful young woman with a bright future ahead of her.

 As we drove down I-85 and got closer to the house, I asked Deja what she would like to eat. I had food in the refrigerator but hadn’t cooked. I began to name the places that were around my house: Wendy’s, Zaxby’s, Mc Donald’s, and Bojangles. It was Sunday, so Chick-Fil-A was closed. She decided that she wanted McDonald’s. As I turned into McDonald’s, I noticed the drive-thru line. It was around the building. I asked her if she wanted to go in, but we quickly realized that was not an option. The inside was closed. I didn’t feel like driving around to find another place to get something to eat, so I decided to stay in line and wait and be patient.

As we were waiting in the drive-thru behind all the cars, I started to think about patience and how God had been dealing with me in this area. You see, I know what the scripture says in Galatians 5:22-23; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. It’s one thing to know the scripture, but it’s another thing to walk and live it out. This is an area of growth for me.

As believers, we must join the Holy Spirit in the work that He is doing in our lives. He is doing the work in us and we must walk and depend on Him. We cannot achieve these things on our own. You and I need His help in order to achieve these character traits; the ones that are found in Jesus Christ. As we join our lives to Him, He is able to produce these qualities in us. Our connection enables us to grow. We become more like Christ.

I have decided to join in the work that He is doing in my life. What about you? I am working on patience. Which one of these qualities do you want the Holy Spirit to produce in you? Remember, God is working in the waiting!