1 Corinthians 13 is probably the most well-known passage about love in the Bible. And you know what the first characteristic used to describe love is? Patience. “Love is Patient…” (v. 4). If you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking ‘Oh dear…’

Patience. That word. No, not just a word. That ongoing intentional action. With its tag team of trust, hope, love. Yes, unsurprisingly it comes with a tag team. Because how can we truly love someone without trusting them, or trusting the person who has asked us to love them? And how can we be patient without trust? Or without something to hope for? It is trust that allows us to cling steadfastly to hope with patience. Even when disappointment, doubt and fear try wrestle us away from its grip. We need the posture that faithful trust, expectant hope and enduring love give us in order to stand firm when our backs are against the wall.

The Bible implores us multiple times to be patient. Hebrews 10:36 (GNT) says “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” James 5:8 (GNT) notes “You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord’s coming is near.” Patience is included in the fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Romans 12:12 (CEV) tells us “Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying”. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 tells us to be patient with everyone (Everyone? Yes , really – this verse lists the slow, the idle, the disruptive, the disheartened, the weak). And we can only do this well from a place of love.

However, it is not just people we are to be patient with. Psalm 27:14 (KJV) is pretty clear that we are to wait patiently for God to act: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Of course, God will not ask us to be something He himself is not. He is extremely patient (Exodus 34:6, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 1:16). We are usually the ones in a hurry, not Him. Afterall, a thousand years are just like a day to Him (Psalm 90:4). As such to be patient, we certainly need His help, and the willingness to learn at the feet of The Master of Patience.

We also need practice, as patience develops through practice. Patience comes from being in situations that call for patience and acting out that call. I remember reading an amusing prayer once, “Lord bless me with patience… not opportunities to be patient, I’ve had plenty of those and they don’t seem to be working. The actual patience.” If only huh? 😊.  Sure, the knowledge that we should be patient and some tips can come from listening to a sermon or reading a blogpost on patience, but we can only put it into practice when the rubber hits the road.

God practices patience too. He practices it with us on a steady basis. As 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) says “The Lord is not really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” God’s patience comes from a place of love for us. Remember the tag team? This is one way love manifests – through patience.

When we pray, naturally if we pray with faith, we wait for God to answer and act. Herein lies the challenge. We know that God answers prayers when we ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). But, we don’t know when. Psalm 74 details this anguish of waiting, especially when you don’t know how long the wait will be for (vs 9-10). Still, we wait. Hopefully patiently, because anything that takes time requires patience.

Thankfully, God is kind. When God makes promises that will likely require a fair amount of waiting, He sends additional confirmation. He knows we will need these confirmations and reminders to keep holding on. Especially when darkness descends, and doubt is flying around. This was the case with the coming of the Messiah. Multiple prophets confirmed it – Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah and others. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son and He sent angels to confirm this (Genesis 18:9-15). Joseph had multiple dreams (Genesis 37), and a long season of opportunities to practice patience. This is where trust is vital. As Charles Spurgeon notes, “I would sooner walk in the dark and hold hard to a promise of God, than to trust in the light of the brightest day that ever dawned.”

Not only does God give confirmations to allow us hold on to hope and wait patiently, He renews our strength while we wait. Jeremiah 31:25 (BSB) reminds us that God refreshes the weary soul and replenishes those who are weak. Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) reassures us that “they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” God can renew our strength through various ways. He has given us His word, and filling ourselves with the bread and meat of His word can strengthen us. He can send people into our lives who care for us, intercede for us, and strengthen our faith. He may send seemingly ‘little’ miracles before the ‘big’ one.

It is also useful to examine our perspective. When we read about healing and deliverance miracles in the Bible, or even today, we sometimes see them as instantaneous. We can read a short Bible passage of a few verses, or listen to a five minute testimony and rightly rejoice at the miracle at the end. But we sometimes forget that there may have been years of pain, anguish, waiting compressed into those few lines. Let’s not forget that the woman with the issue of blood waited for 12 years, or that the man by the pool of Bethesda waited 38 years, 38 YEARS!!! Lots of others had suffered for so long as well before receiving their healing. Some had suffered from childhood, like the boy who had epilepsy (Mark 9:21). Others had suffered right from birth. Acts 3:1-11 tells us the story of Peter and John healing the lame man at the Temple Gate in Jesus name. That man must have been lame even when Jesus walked on Earth, as the Bible records that he had been lame from birth. Yet this man didn’t receive his healing all that while. Why? I don’t know. What I do know is that God “has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 (BSB).

Some of the most moving testimonies are wrapped up in years of painful waiting. The strongest trees take years to grow. They keep growing, even when over the short term, our eyes may tell us otherwise. But when grown, they can withstand powerful winds. Then our eyes will catch up and realise what was happening all along. There is an obvious difference between gourmet food and assembly line fast food, and we know which one requires more waiting. Stunning works of art can take ages to create. Literary masterpieces don’t appear overnight. We see the finished work and marvel, but sometimes overlook the process, or the hours the artist, the writer, the craftsperson must have spent bent over, working on it, perfecting the edges, finetuning, editing, even the areas we laypeople may not notice. Again, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” – James 1:4 (KJV). Not only does patience want her perfect work, God wants His perfect time. And He wants us to trust this timing. Elizabeth and Zechariah had to wait a long time for their son, John, to be born (Luke 1). But there was a reason. He had a crucial role to play as the forerunner of The Messiah.

So, we know that God will act in His perfect time. We acknowledge that God’s timing is perfect and He is sovereign. We know we should wait patiently on the Lord. As Romans 8:25 (NLT) says, “if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently”. The question therefore is what do we do while waiting? How can we wait with patience? Well, time flies when we are having fun or doing something really engaging right? The most engaging and fruitful place to be in while waiting is in the place of prayer. For it is there that we can truly get to know God, His Word and His Will.

Just as relationships with people are built over time, and we reveal more to people when we have longer deeper conversations than over a quick five-minute chat, so it is with prayer. If we truly want God to speak to us, we need to give Him the time to do so. When you think about it, how much can you really find out from someone after spending five minutes with them? Unless you have an already existing very close relationship with that person, probably not much. Spending quality time with people and patiently listening to them gives them space to open up. Could spending quality time with God have that same effect? I think so. Bearing in mind that we should spend time with God not just because we want something, but because we want Him, because we enjoy His company, His presence. Then we get to the point where we can savour silence in God’s company, where we can be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). And as our souls thirst for God as a deer pants for the water brooks, He will quench that thirst (Psalm 42:1, 63:1, John 6:35). Not only will God quench the thirst, but rivers of living water will flow from God to us, even overflowing out of us to others (John 7:37-38). As we continue to delight ourselves in the LORD, we know that He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4).

Intentionally creating the space and quality time to pray and study God’s word, to feed our Spirit man or woman, is therefore absolutely essential. In doing so, we can receive guidance on the next steps to take and how we can best serve God and others while waiting (1 Peter 4:10). This is very important and can shift our focus. It also allows us to practically understand our value to God and His Kingdom. We don’t serve to get into God’s good graces and get a reward (Ephesians 2:8-9), but as a response to God’s love for us and ours for Him. It is in the place of prayer that we know whether we should “stand still and see the salvation of God” (Exodus 14:13), or whether there are spiritual battles that need to be fought, as was the case with Daniel. His prayer had been answered, but there were forces delaying the answer (Daniel 10:10-14). We also continually and humbly defer to God’s will. Then at the right time, the due time, the proper time, God Himself will lift us up (1 Peter 5:6). For it is He who lifts our head as we focus on Him (Psalm 3:3).

Waiting on The Lord when patience isn’t your strong point can be tricky. Trust me, I should know. If only God would just tell us when, right? But, this doesn’t always happen. And this is where the grand reveal of how much we really trust and love God takes place. This is where we realise the importance of knowing that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28, NLT). We need to be “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Saviour; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7, NIV). Our knowledge and memory of this Word may fade sometimes, so constantly reminding ourselves of God’s word and promises is essential. When we trust God, we can go to Him for refuge when the storms come (and they will!), because we know He is reliable. He is a dependable, steadfast rock. We can use the shield of faith against doubt. The song “He will do it again” by Shirley Caesar is a great encouragement to continue trusting expectantly.

This past week while at a small group meeting, someone shared an incident that had taken place which reminded me of the need to trust the command “wait”. She was a passenger on a bus and it had arrived at her stop. Naturally she walked to the bus door, but instead of the bus driver to open the door as he would usually do, he simply said “wait”. I guess it was one of those moments when you want to raise your eyebrow and question the bus driver’s rationale. But, what happened next answered that question. A bicycle was coming very fast down the side. It was dark, and the bicycle had no lights on. As such she hadn’t seen it coming, but the bus driver could see because he had his mirrors. Consequently, he refused to open the door, preventing what could have been an awful accident.

I know we don’t always get immediate answers to why God wants us to wait though. Sometimes, it can be to mould us, but it can also be for other reasons that have nothing to do with us. We can pray and ask God to tell us why, and in His infinite wisdom He may choose to tell us. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search it out” (Proverbs 25:2). Even if we don’t get an answer to the ‘why’, as Rainer Maria Rilke notes, “be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

As we think on these things, I pray that we will learn to wait on the Lord, especially in the seasons of our lives when we feel the world’s pressure to rush, to do something speedily. I pray that the knowledge that our God is good, loving, kind, and a Master of perfect timing will give us the patience and strength we need as we remain expectant. May we pass our patience tests when they come. May our posture of trust, hope and love not slump. I pray that God sends us strength renewers when we feel we cannot go on. May we not faint, for in due season, we will reap the reward of our patience. Faithful is He who has promised. ‘Wait on the Lord, Wait patiently on the Lord, Wait, I say, on the Lord’.

Image source here.