Practicing Patience

Covenant Life Church

2 Peter 1:5-6 KJV
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance (we typically call that self control which Pastor David taught on last week, but after that it says ; and to temperance add everyone’s favorite word…. patience;

Galatians 5:22-24 NKJV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [g]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. God gives us the ability to do anything He asks us to do, but it isn’t going to happen on accident. We have to do it on purpose.

Four areas to be patient in:

1. Be patient with God
   God is preparing you for the things He has prepared for you.
   Psalm 31:15 NKJV
   “My times are in Your hands…”

2. Be patient with people
   According to the Vine’s Bible Dictionary, patience is a fruit of the spirit that only grows under trial.
   James 1:4 AMPC
   4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
   God puts us with people that irritate us on purpose.
   If we’re going to represent the Lord, we must develop a patient spirit towards people.

3. Be patient with yourself
   God knew what He was getting when He got you.
   Learn to enjoy where you’re at on the way to where you’re going.

4. Be patient with things

Works of the Flesh:
My bright ideas on how to get what I want in my timing instead of waiting on God.

Genesis 16 – Sarah and Hagar

Nothing works unless it originates with God.

God isn’t asking us to do anything but believe, and then when you do get an instruction, obey.

Enjoy Your Life

John 10:10 AMPC
10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

If you can’t enjoy your life now, you’ll never enjoy it if you do get what you want.

An Attitude of Expectancy

Set your attitude everyday.

Ephesians 4:23-24 AMPC
23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], 24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.

James 5:7 AMPC
7 So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.

Stir yourself up.

If you live with expectancy good things will happen in your life.
I expect something good is going to happen to me today, and something good is going to happen through me today.

The post Practicing Patience first appeared on Covenant Life Church.