Photo by Osama Saeed on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12 Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am desolate and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
18 Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!
Patience is a virtue. It is also one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It is a gift given to a Christ centered person. While a certain amount of patience can be learned, we will not be able to fully grasp this virtue until it is God given. The patience God gives cannot be confused with human derived patience which can look like sloth, laziness, or procrastination.
Christ centered patience enables us to grow in Christ. It helps grow our faith and trust in Christ when we wait on the Lord as David prescribes in verses five and twenty-one. During sickness, hardship, and famine we wait on the Lord to answer our prayers of deliverance. Sometimes those prayers are answered quickly. We are blessed, thank God and praise Him for His quick answer.
But we don’t learn patience. When God is going to stretch our faith and test us, the answer to our prayer may be delayed. It can even have a different outcome than that for which we prayed. In these times we learn to be patient. When we learn Godly patience, we have an easier time being patient with those around us who don’t listen to good advice, have not come to saving faith after years of prayer for them, and for those times when we are made to wait to the point of exasperation.
Learning to be patient helps us to grow closer to Christ. We learn more about the majesty of Christ when forced to rely on Him, than in times of abundance when we don’t have to wait for the next paycheck or plate of food.
Anger can arise when we are not patient. Anger at God, at ourselves and others. When we lose patience, we are like the little child in the grocery store who stamps his feet and falls on the floor crying because he cannot have something immediately. Patience is something we can and should pray that God grows in us. As one aspect of the fruit of the spirit if patience isn’t in full bloom the rest of our fruit is damaged.
Peter likely referenced this Psalm when he wrote this in 2 Peter 1,
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 2 Peter 1:5-7
