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The Fruit of Patience

There is a saying in church circles – mostly spoken in jest – that a Christian should “never pray for patience.” The reason being, if you pray for patience the Lord will bring circumstances into your life to teach you patience.

We understand the point of the joke. We are impatient people and wish to avoid any situation where we might have to be patient.

But we must see this as a joke and dismiss it as a joke, hoping that no one actually takes it seriously. The truth of the matter is we should pray for patience, practice patience, and desire to be patient people.

Why? Because patience is a fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23a, ESV).

The fruit of the Spirit is not like the gifts of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts are given to believers by the Spirit for the work of the church. Every Christian has at least one.

But the fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside of the believer. We do not bear one or two fruits of the Spirit, but all of them. Just as an apple tree produces apples and an orange tree produces oranges, so the Holy Spirit produces the characteristics of his divine nature within us.

Being patient is proof that we have been born again. We should both pray and desire to be patient people. And if we find some hindrance to our patience, we should seek to remove it quickly.

Love In Christ,
Pastor Mitch

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