Patience Testers

READ: EPHESIANS 4:1-32; COLOSSIANS 3:1-17

There are certain people in our lives who test our patience. When we’re around them, we might find ourselves acting in ways we don’t normally act. For example, we might struggle to spend time with little children, or we might find it difficult to relate to older people. Or there could be certain personality types we have a hard time interacting with, regardless of the person’s age.

But when we come across people in our lives who frustrate us and make us feel impatient, we don’t have to respond negatively. Because God is patient and loving toward us, we can be patient and loving toward others. Because Jesus is gentle and humble, and Christians have His Holy Spirit living in us, we can be gentle and humble too (Matthew 11:29).

When we’re struggling to get along with someone, we can reach out to God. He empowers us to respond to people in the way He calls us to. If we can’t keep our anger and frustration in check on our own, we can take a step back and rest in the calm of God’s presence. As we recenter our attention on Him, we may find ourselves seeing things from His perspective.

God calls us to be an example of His love, and He knows that we need Him in order to do this. As Christians, we can rely on the Holy Spirit, who is forming us in love and understanding. As we grow in our relationship with God, our lives bear the fruits of the Spirit—including patience (Galatians 5:22-23).

And even when we get impatient with others, even when we mess up and lash out, God is still patient and gentle and loving as He interacts with us. Through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, God has sealed our forgiveness and made us part of His family. So, whether we feel frustrated or not, whether we are with someone we usually get along with or not, we can rely on the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with God’s love, to treat that person kindly (Romans 5:5). Emily Acker

• Have you noticed that it’s more difficult for you to interact with certain people or groups of people than others? God invites us to talk to Him about all this, and He helps us examine the reasons behind our hesitancy to interact with, or even our disgust toward, other people. In addition to talking to God, who are trusted Christians you can talk to about these things?

• When we feel impatient with others, how could it be helpful to remember God is patient with us?

• Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)