Patience: The Fruit of the Spirit I Don’t Have
The fruit of the Spirit is something all us churchgoers know about. So let’s talk about something that’s maybe a little hard: patience. Being completely transparent, this is the one fruit of the Spirit I don’t have (yet). As someone who grew up in church, I know by heart what all of these fruits are. Maybe you do, too. This particular fruit of the Spirit though, I struggle with daily. I lose my cool with a lot of different things, and that’s really hard for me to admit.
Online, we have this tendency to portray only the things we want people to see, but often don’t talk about the things they don’t. So I am breaking down those walls today and telling you *exactly* how it is. I am letting you in on a part of my life that is messy, and an area I’m not proud of but am working on daily–rather, God is working on in me daily.
I’m not generally an angry person. In fact, if you know me in real life, you know I am pretty optimistic most of the time. I do complain about a few things, but who doesn’t? One of the areas that immediately comes to mind where I gravely lack patience, is behind the wheel of a car. Yep, I am a road rager. But mostly in words and not actions. Especially on days where I need to be somewhere and the person in front of me is driving 20 below the speed limit. *insert crazy emoji here*
But something I am learning, in spite of my attempts to be better, is that I can’t make myself have this fruit of the Spirit. Here’s the truth: no matter how much we try to have all the fruit of the Spirit, it’s not something we can do on our own. The fruit of the Spirit isn’t OUR own fruit, but rather the fruit of God–hence the name. So unless God equips me with that fruit of the spirit, I can’t achieve it outside of Him.
We can’t give ourselves the Fruit of the Spirit, only God can develop that in us.
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Can you relate? I am sure all of us have things or qualities that we wish we were better at. Patience is just one of those things that God is continually trying to teach me. Apparently I am stubborn or something 😉 But truthfully, it’s a process. I honestly feel like there will always be things that The Lord tries to teach me that won’t be fully realized until the day I meet Him face to face.
Some of our lessons in life that God teaches us won’t be fully realized till the day we meet Him.
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Until then, I will continue to battle with patience. The good news is, that God has made me aware of this and I know to try and respond better when I get upset or impatient with anything. He has grown me in this area the last few years, but I still have a long way to go. Maybe you’re like me too in this regard, but I am so glad we serve a God who has all of these qualities and gently and lovingly instills them in us. Even though the journey is long and hard.
What is the fruit of the Spirit you struggle the most with? Right now, whatever your struggle is, remember that we are all works in process. In this life, we are going to fall short because we are human and are not perfect. But one day, every believer will be made new!
We are all works in process and will never be perfect till the day Jesus calls us home!
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There will be no more sin, shame, sadness, or anything else. And while I may never have patience, I am clinging to the hope that I’ll be made new one day, and that until that day, God will continually grow, shape, and renew me (and you) until He calls us home to be with Him. Oh what a day that will be!
