Have you ever lost your patience? Have you ever prayed for patience? Then you know the value of patience. I certainly have prayed for patience and over time it has made a big difference in my life. The Apostle Paul tells us that patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! [1] Patience grows out of our relationship with our Lord and that is why is called a fruit of the Spirit.
Naomi calls for Ruth to be Patient
Would Boaz fulfill the role of redeemer and marry his cousins’ widow? When Ruth returns to tell her mother-in-law, Naomi, all that happened, she told Ruth to be patient.
Ruth 3:14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he returned to the town. 16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ” 18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.” [2]
Growing in Patience
Patience does not develop overnight. God’s power and goodness are crucial to the development of patience. Colossians 1:11 tells us that we are strengthened by Him to “great endurance and patience.” James 1:3-4 encourages us to know that trials are His way of perfecting our patience. Our patience is further developed and strengthened by resting in God’s perfect will and timing, even in the face of evil men who “succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” Psalm 37:7.
Our patience is rewarded in the end “because the Lord’s coming is near” James 5:7-8. Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. [3] [4]
To hear more about the value of patience, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/seeking-the-lord-changes-my-life-ruth-part-2
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] https://www.christianity.com/bible/bible.php?ver=niv&q=james+1%3a3-4