What does it mean to be patient? Does it mean never to speak? Does it mean allowing others to do what they want even if it upsets us? Does it mean never getting what we want out of life? We hope the following Bible verses about patience will encourage you!
“Patience” refers to the suffering, waiting and enduring as determined by will and not simply under necessity. “We need to "wait patiently" for God, to endure uncomplainingly the various forms of sufferings, wrongs and evils that we meet with, and to bear patiently injustices which we cannot remedy and provocations we cannot remove.”
The Bible references patience many times. Noah had to wait for the flood waters to come, and for them to recede. Moses wandered the desert for 40 years. Sarah was 90 before she realized the promise of her son, Isaac. But in all these instances, having ‘patience’ equates to having ‘trust’ in the Lord.
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Whenever we are struggling with our patience we should remember that God’s got this! As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.
Sometimes when we are waiting on answers during the waiting, it is easy to fill our lives with ‘busy.’ We want to jump in and fix everything ourselves and make things happen. But to truly have God’s will be done and foster godly patience in ourselves, we should remember Psalm 46:10. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
It’s very easy to feel angry sometimes at some of the circumstances in our lives. But the Bible is clear that anger is not the right answer. James 1:19-20 shares, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
What advice can we take from the Bible for how do have patience during hard times? Deuteronomy 31:6 shares, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Isaiah 41:10 says, So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Here are more verses from the Bible that tell us what God has to say about patience.
Habakkuk 2:3 - “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it[a] will certainly come and will not delay.” God promises the gift of revelation for those who are children of God. However, sometimes the gift of revelation can come more slowly than we anticipate. In those moments when we are waiting on God for His revelation of truth, we can cling onto Him that He will not delay.
Psalm 37:7-9: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.” It is so easy to get jealous when you see other people who don’t follow the Lord succeeded in life when you feel like you are not having the same level of success. However, we must keep in mind that this is a broken world. In this verse, it tells us to turn away from anger and wrath against our neighbor. Vengeance is the Lord’s not ours. God will do what He sees fit in each situation. Patience is important, so we don’t become angry or lose the power of our witness to those who don’t believe.
Proverbs 15:18: “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.” As someone who gets hot headed in conflict, this is difficult to restrain my anger and remain patient when emotions get in the way. However, this verse is great for me to keep in mind during conflict.
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Romans 5:2-4: “Not only so, but we[b] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Suffering produces perseverance, but it is hard for us to produce that perseverance because suffering is far from pleasant. Our condition is to want to protect ourselves from pain and seek out pleasure. Every time we choose to be patient instead of impulsive, we produce the spiritual character of perseverance, which in turn produces hope.
Ephesians 4:2- “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” We need to exhibit extra patience and forgive often. We can’t sympathize with people when we don’t know them well. This means to allow them to be who they are, right where they are. When we do that, we accept people unconditionally, and in so doing, bear with them in love.
Galatians 6:9- “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Not only should we produce perseverance through our patience, but it also means we will reap a harvest, which means all of our hard work will produce something if we don’t give up. God rewards patience and perseverance, and when we respond in the same way God promises we will reap a harvest that we have sown through waiting on God.
Patience is never easy to develop. However, it is necessary when we think about what God has to say about what a Christlike life looks like. Jesus himself bore with others on earth even when He knew the true meaning of life—belief in his Father. We need to do the same. When we are patient, love grows, anger dispels, and Christ is glorified.
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