We are getting through! by Diyanne Podhaczky

You may be thinking, “But it is not easy.” For some of us (me too!), there is a level of ‘isolation fatigue’ during this time, our stress levels are up and tolerance levels down. I must admit that I am finding myself sometimes getting grumpy with some people (especially on social media, maybe because I am not in the same room as them and it doesn’t seem to be as real as it would be in person). I received this encouragement from my supervisor recently. I thought that might be an encouragement for you.

Be Patient

·       How are you going being patient with those closest to you?  

·       Do they get the ‘worst end of the stick’ after a hard day?

·       We need God’s strength and grace to remain patient and kind, allowing Him to curb our tendency to hurry others along.

·       Is it our temperament or a family trait?

·       Is it the present circumstances?

Ask the Apostle Paul to explain love (agápē) and the first thing out of his mouth:

“Love is patient” (1 Cor 13:4). Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). Impatience is a fruit of selfishness. Selfish is simply an ugly, accurate description of my fallen, depraved nature, which wants all of creation to serve me. Selfishness is the real arch-enemy of love. Love is patient because patience is dying to selfishness. It is the belief that in this dying, we will find greater joy in the joy of the ones we are seeking to love God and neighbours. It is one of the ways we fulfil the two greatest commandments (Matt 22:37-40).

The Bible says we are to be:

·       “Patiently bearing with one another in love” (Eph 4:2)

·       “Patient with them all the idle, fainthearted, and weak” (1 Thess 5:14)

·       “Reproving, rebuking, and exhorting, with complete patience” (2 Tim 4:2)

·       “Patient in trials” (Rom 12:1)

·       “Patiently enduring…sufferings” (2 Cor 1:6)

·       “Patiently enduring evil” (2 Tim 2:24)

·       “Imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12)

·       “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Ps 37:7)

·       “Patient…until the coming of the Lord” (Jas 5:7)

There are really no loopholes here. We are to be patient with people, pain, evil, and God. Patience requires both faith and humility. It requires that whenever things go differently than we envision or wish, we believe that God is working all things for good (Rom 8:28). We need to trust Him that He will complete all the good things He begins (Phil 1:6) and that we can trust Him because our understanding is incomplete and inaccurate at best (Prov 3:5-6). Ultimately, love is patient because God is patient,

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps 103:8).

And that is why we are to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, [and] slow to anger” (Jas 1:19).

Therefore, in the midst of all that is happening, ask yourself, “Am I resolved to keep close to God, that the fruit of the Spirit may be manifest in me?” That, too, is my prayer for myself and you, as you relate to all in your family, work, school, friends, and neighbours.[1]

---

[1] Taken from Garry Tobbeck – Korus Connect Chaplaincy.