Charity suffereth long (1 Corinthians 13:4)
It
is no incident that Paul places patience as the first characteristic of
love. Patience must be resident in all the other characteristics of
love that follow. In the original language, it means to be
long-spirited. Patience is the opposite of temptation. Temptation
masquerades as a shortcut to one's desire. James makes the contrast
clear,
"My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire," wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4)
Patience
fights temptation by waiting on God. It does so with a settled spirit.
Patience is not on the edge. The bible commands us not to be anxious and
patience is not. As it pertains to love, it is a willingness to wait
on God to make a difference in the person. One realization of patience
is the recognition that our timing is not always God's timing. Patience
is willing to wait on God's timing as opposed to trying to dictate
your timing to God. In a sense, patience is to search for God in a
situation. That is, to look for God's hand and work in the
circumstance. Here's a spiritual reality. While you are asking God to
work on somebody else, God is working on you. There are two wonderful
things about patience. One is patience cannot lose. The second thing
is patience always ends in an unexpected blessing. Paul helps us to
understand how God works in the life of the believer. He says,
"And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience,
hope..." (Romans 5:3-4)
God
is always working on the believer when he or she is exercising
patience. One always comes out better. The patience-journey will always
end in an unexpected blessing as one experiences God. Isaiah captures
the reward of patience this way,
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
