Patience is essential to our salvation. The Bible says that hope is needed to be patience. For Christians it is our hope in Jesus Christ that brings patience. If we have no hope, we have no need for patience. Patience is also closely aligned with love as well as hope. Love is full of patience and hope. Just as God is a God of love, He desires for us to love Him as well as others. With God being a God of love, He is also patient. God is patiently waiting on us to come around to His way of thinking.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1 Corinthians 13:4)
Patience is one of the most difficult fruits of the Spirit to possess. While there are differing degrees of patience in different people, it is a virtue most Christian teens wish they possessed in greater amounts. Most People want things "right now." We live in a society that promotes instant gratification. Yet, there is something to the saying, "great things come to those who wait."
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it received the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! .
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
The Christian understanding of patience is grounded in our understanding of others as those in whom God is potentially at work. As Paul instructed Timothy, the Lord's servant is to be kind to everyone, demonstrating patience even in correcting opponents, because "God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."(2 Tim. 2:24-26).
Trials and troubles are what will help make you more patient than anything you can do on your own. James 1:2-4 says ' Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.' The Bible promises us that these trials will only help to build us up, and help make us better people and give us that patience that we long for.
The most important step is to make the decision 'No matter what, I will serve the Lord and keep faith in him.' Simply doing that, truly believing that in your heart, will take a load of bricks off your shoulders.
Try memorizing the verse 2 Timothy 4:7 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' You should always keep running the race and keeping faith in the Lord. He is there for you, He cares about you, and He loves you. Your goal is to finish strong, and you can do it.
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