The Disciple's Journal Character Trait #2: Patience

Patience:

to endure hardship without complaint; calmness, self-control and the willingness to tolerate delay.


As I look at my life, especially during this time of the year - the new year - when we evaluate what has happened this past year and what we look forward to in the next year - I'm encouraged by some of the baby steps I've taken in several areas of my life. I have seen some good progress in some of the things I want to accomplish and in who I want to be. What is discouraging, however, is when you see an area that at one point in your life was a strength deteriorate into something that is a weakness. For me, that character trait I've seen decline over the years is patience. I can honestly say that if you asked my family and close friends five years ago to give you a characteristic about me that is a good one, patience would have been at the top of the list. Back then, I was patient in both senses of the definition above: through the hardships I've had in my life, I've taken them in stride for the most part (although I have done some complaining over the years). And I've exhibited calmness, self-control and the willingness to tolerate delay. The only area back then where I struggled patience-wise was in the car. I have never been a very patient driver.

But now, I look at who I am, and I have become very impatient in my life. It has extended beyond drive time and it has permeated most of my life. I have become more defensive, and I think part of it has to do with impatience with situations and people.

When I think of the word patience, the Bible character who immediately comes to mind is Joseph. Here was a guy who was mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery, and then later on put into prison for something he did not do. If I was in Joseph's situation, I would have immediately become defensive and tried to prove to people that I was in the right. But Joseph endured through it all and patiently waited in prison until God intervened. What a great example of patience!

To me, patience and perspective go hand in hand. If you have the right perspective on life, and in situations, you can be patient because you know that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose." This doesn't mean that everything will turn out right in our lives, and that life will be smooth sailing. What it does mean is that we need to be patient and see how God is working through our situations to produce good. For example - when I was in my early twenties, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor (benign) and had to have a couple of surgeries to get rid of it. For the longest time, I questioned God as to why I had to go through all of that. A few years later, one of my youth coaches invited me to come to the school library where she worked and read to an elementary school class. I was excited about it, because not only was it at the same school where I started elementary, but it was even for the same teacher that I had in third grade, who was retiring that year. I chose to read The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (shortened version with pictures). After I had read to them, everyone got a chance to go into the computer lab and write a summary of what I read. I noticed that one of the kids kind of was by himself, not talking to anyone. I asked my youth coach why, and she told me that he never talked to anyone. You see, he had a brain tumor and felt like no one understood what he was going through. At that moment, it was almost like God came down and spoke to me. I realized that this was a reason why I went through what I went through. I went up and started talking to the boy, and told him that I could relate. I told him about my brain tumor and how I had to go to the hospital all the time too. We talked for two hours that day. I never got a chance to go back (I moved to Texas that same year), but for a couple of years after that, I would receive a note in the mail from my youth coach with some pictures that the little boy drew.

Perspective is key to patience. Perspective reminds us that when we are driving, and there is a slow person in front of us, it really isn't that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Perspective reminds us that when we go through trials here on earth, that this earth and this life isn't the only thing we look forward to. Perspective reminds us that when we are punished for simply doing what is right, that our heavenly Father sees what we do, and that makes it okay. Not fun, but okay.

The verse I chose to memorize this week is Romans 12:12: Be joyful in love, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Please pray for me as I try to develop patience in my life again and try to gain the proper perspective in each situation.

Some Self-Evaluation Questions about Patience:

- Am I able to accept unfavorable circumstances calmly?

- Do I complain when plans do not go my way?

- Is my life being lived out at a pace I can relax with, or do I always seem to be in a hurry and just a little behind?

- Can I handle red lights, long lines, short delays, or do I quickly get angry or irritated?

- Do I wait until I have enough money to buy something or am I constantly borrowing?

- Am I more concerned about God's will to be done than my own desire to be fulfilled?

- Am I willing to go through trying times in order to develop patience?

- Do I recognize obstacles as opportunities for God to build His character into me?