Why patience is key in the believer’s life.

by Dr. David R. Downey

People are fond of saying, “Don’t pray for patience.” The inference is that God will send trials to build patience, rather than just dropping it on us as a gift.

This is usually true, but should we hesitate? Is patience not worth whatever we pay for it? And if we offer this prayer and nothing major happens, then possibly we have reached a level of patience that such a trial is not necessary. That would be a barometer of good behavior!

I am looking deeply into Romans 8:8-27 for help. We can nail down the idea of patience in Paul’s words in verse 25: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Not only can we persevere if we believe something is certain, but we are also eager while we wait. Our patience can be augmented and encouraged because we hope for redemption. 

Whatever the world thinks of patience (and generally, its outlook is positive), it is cardinal to the Christian. Patience is central; it is the worker bee of faith. It says, deep in the heart where there is stillness, “I believe; therefore, I can wait.” 

The principle is the same as the relentless drip, drip, drip of water that, in time, eventually wears away a rock. When we have patience, regardless of how small our efforts are, eventually we make a dent. Patience is not dull passiveness but a strong and active virtue. It moves impossibilities with its persistence.

Patience with self

In verse 23, Paul reminds us that we have the firstfruits of the Spirit. This implies that we do not have the full fruit. We wait for our adoption, and yet, we groan!

It is not easy being a child of the King. Many things around us remind us of our separation from Him the Father. The world is certainly poverty-stricken. Nevertheless, the gap might be most evident in our own sins and weaknesses. 

The battle we face with ourselves is first in order because it may be the most difficult. Furthermore, our impatience with ourselves may lead to impatience with others, or even with God.

The firstfruits tend to remind us that we are falling short. Since Jesus is our Lord and He is perfect, we can easily get discouraged. Additionally, when our guide for life is the Bible and it is perfect in its formation and teaching — having authority over all our life — we can too easily find passages that indict us. I am speaking of not only when we willfully sin but also when we follow the Lord with our whole heart. We may feel indicted by the Word of God and the purity of the Lord himself.

What to do?

Paul said that what we suffer now cannot compare to what will be revealed in us (v. 18). And what is to be revealed? Jesus’ glory on us. When others attack us because of our strong stand for the Savior, or when our own heart rebels against our weaknesses and our feelings of separation from the majesty of God, we should remind ourselves that we will be revealed as perfect, without spot, because of Jesus’ glory on us.

We groan, but we will not always.

Patience with the church

Think this way: The people in your church are as close to you as anyone in the world. This relationship may even transcend blood ties if your family is not part of the family of faith. For all their weaknesses, church folks share the revelation of Jesus with you. 

In Romans 8:26, 27, Paul says that the Spirit will help in our prayers to search out infirmities within our fellowship that hinder growth. He may uncover bitterness, willfulness, fear, doubt, secret sin, rebellion, sickness, weakness, or a host of other things. The Holy Spirit helps seek these things out and reveals them to Jesus, who intercedes for the saints. Why would Jesus need to intercede at all unless we were prone to fail and unable to help ourselves? 

We have heard that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Since our churches are made up of people with infirmities, Jesus is interceding to bring each together more fully into His plan. Under the visible surface of our church is upheaval. The character of the church is changing, as it should. We need the Holy Spirit to reveal, and Jesus to intercede, for this change to be completed.

What church is there anywhere, of any denomination, where the gospel is consistently and radiantly embodied? We cannot overlook the fact that God builds the church with rough cloth, meaning we are sometimes ungrateful, selfish, halting. It is to the church’s glory, and not shame, that she welcomes sinful people.

We can learn to be patient with the weaknesses of church members (including our own). We should not excuse these weaknesses but work with them. When we are patient and focused on our progress, we understand that God is doing a work according to our spiritual desires. Some in our fellowship will not join in and may remain frustratingly static, but we can find joy from those who are moving together.

Patience with God

Just as smoke is derived from flame, so patience is derived from faith. When we know of God’s sovereign, unchanging nature and of His love for us, we can learn to wait. 

We sometimes wrestle with God. That is not very smart, but we do it anyway. We are in a hurry, and God is not. We pray fervently and see events go directly against our prayers, so we might find ourselves murmuring as the Israelites often did.

Paul reminds us in Romans 8:19-22 that some groaning is going on, and it is because the creation has been “subjected to futility” (v. 20). God did this, but it was in response to our sin. All creation feels this separation and longs for restitution. God’s greatness and the gap fixed by our sinfulness prevent full satisfaction.

Once, while preaching, I told the congregation I was imagining an ant creeping along the front of the pulpit and coming to the end of the corner. I told them, “He has found a real problem in knowing how to cross this gulf here, where my finger is, and how to get home for supper. He probably doesn’t even know he is on the pulpit here at this church and that he is interrupting my sermon. Poor little insect! What does he know of our town or America or the world?”

The gap between God and us is infinitely greater. God is unlimited in power, wisdom, and knowledge, so we should not be surprised when we cannot fathom what He is doing or why He is doing it. We are sometimes ant-like in our comprehension.

If we wrestle with God, we should expect to be pinned to the mat. On the other hand, we can re–focus our thinking and remember the divine love that breathes deeply and waits patiently. The futility we sometimes feel is couched in hope because our future peace is tied to Him (v. 21). Any prolonged ordeal is enough to test anyone’s patience. However, the Christian enjoys the guarantee that one day God will not only make all things right but also deliver an eternal payoff. Patience is not just a good idea; it is the only way to serve God faithfully. Reading further in Romans, we come across these words from the apostle Paul that sum up our thoughts: “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer” (12:12, CSB).