Prayerful Patience

This weekend, we’re finishing our series of messages based on sections from James with a message I’m titling “Prayerful Patience.” Patience, or forbearance, as it is sometimes translated, is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. I must admit, there are times when that fruit might be very evident in my life, and others not so much. For instance, I find myself becoming increasingly impatient when I am watching my favorite sports teams losing games, sometimes due to mistakes which I feel should not be made.

Obviously, that is ridiculous on my part – holding world class athletes to a standard that I could not personally live up to. So why do I become so impatient? I came to the conclusion that not only do I want the teams I follow to win, but when someone makes a mistake, it reminds me of my own mistakes, especially embarrassing ones I may make in public. I do not like failing, and when I do, I become very frustrated with myself. In fact, my fear of failure in public has often kept me from doing certain things because I don’t want to make a fool of myself.

Thank God that one of His characteristics is patience. While He is perfect and calls us to walk in His ways, when we fail, He does not give up on us but, in mercy, will forgive us. That’s why He sent His Son our Lord Jesus as a Savior to forgive our sin, not a self-help guru. In short, He gives us a safe place to fail. What is more, He calls us to be patient with ourselves. The Holy Spirit works with us as a work in progress.

Praying for patience with ourselves leads to praying for patience with others, not holding them to standards we ourselves cannot keep, but wanting them to know the wonder of our Lord’s compassionate mercy and the joy of Him saying, “It’s a new day! The past is forgiven. New opportunities await. Let’s walk together, talking together through prayer and time in My Word, growing in a life of love which leads to joy, which leads to peace, which leads to patience.”