In the list of the fruits of the Spirit, patience comes right after peace. Why? Because when we have peace in our hearts, practically nothing can cause us to feel impatient. But these qualities are the fruit of the Spirit, not the effort of the flesh. We can’t psych ourselves up and say, ‘I’m going to be patient if it kills me.’ If it’s the genuine fruit of the Spirit, we’ll have genuine inner peace, and circumstances that used to irritate us won’t bother us as much (or even at all), because we’ve started to depend completely on God. Patience is a kind of faith. It says, ‘I trust God. I believe He is bigger than this problem. I believe He has His hand in these irritations and can use them in my life for good.’ Frustration says, ‘Why did this happen?’ Faith says, ‘God, what do you want me to learn here?’ Abraham was 100 years old when his second son, Isaac, was born. That’s a long time to be patient. The toughest kind of waiting happens when we’re in a rush and God isn’t. It’s hard to be patient when we’re waiting for an answer to prayer, but5 being patient is both the evidence of our faith and a test of our faith. It’s at times like that when God whispers, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10 KJV). In other words, ‘I’m in control, I have a better plan, I’m working things out for your good!’
