Virtue: Patience
Scripture: 2 Peter 3:9; Psalm 103
Tomorrow begins our Christian celebration of Passion Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is a week that highlights the passion of God to redeem his people. As we travel this week together, we will be looking at this week through the lens of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). The Fruit of the Spirit is a list of virtues. A virtue in a Christian is the excellence of God on display in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived these virtues perfectly as God made man, and we will spend our week seeing how these virtues show up in Him, and how we can begin to live out these same virtues through the Spirit in our lives. Each day, read the devotional of the day. On your own, with your family, or with a friend or home group read the passage, and travel through these daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and actions to grow in virtue.
The virtue of patience is seen in God through the entirety of the story of scripture. God is patient toward us as he leads us toward redemption. He is slow to anger (Ps. 103:8) and He is patient toward those he loves. He forgives (an out-flow of patience). He does all this toward the goal of His redemption plan. Sin is what has eternally separated us, humanity, from God, but God was not content to leave it this way. His plan to bring us back to him comes to its fulfillment in Jesus during Passion week. God’s patience has a goal: your redemption to Him.
Questions:
1. What are three ways God has shown His patience in your life?
2. How does it change your view of patience to know that patience has a goal (redemption)?
3. What barriers do you have to living out this virtue of patience?
Action:
Remember, a virtue is not something we can just will ourselves into. It is the excellence of God on display in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Invite the Holy Spirit to help you through this action, and join with other believers to do this action with:
Set aside 5 minutes to reflect on the patience of God. Do this in silence, and invite God to increase your patience during this time of quiet.
Then, ask God to show you where He wants to increase patience in you. Is it in a specific relationship? In a specific situation?
Receive God’s grace to increase His patience in you where it is needed. Ask God to remind you that this patience comes with a goal: redemption and becoming more like Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I thank you for your patience toward me. Your patience is a gift to me, giving me opportunity to respond to your grace. As I enter this week of your passion, give me the grace to patiently reflect on your redemption, your plan, and your future return.
Amen
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