If ever there’s a needed virtue for a particular season, it’s patience in ours. Never in my lifetime have I endured a prolonged and taxing challenge like the one we’ve faced this year with the coronavirus pandemic and its effects. As many of us find ourselves on a road that seems to be looping right back around to where we were a few months ago, it can be challenging to maintain the right mental and spiritual outlook. The dictionary defines patience as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset,” and I don’t know about you, but when I read that definition, I feel convicted. Yet in this unique time, there’s no better way to distinguish ourselves as Christians than by adopting an attitude of long-suffering that, although frustrated, refuses to act out in anger or to curse another human being. Whether it’s the immediate family members we are spending more time with, the noisy neighbors we hear because we’re working from home, or even the government officials who upset us, choosing patience in the midst of this extended storm can be a powerful witness to the presence of Christ within. In fact, it’s interesting that when the Apostle Paul defines love in the words of 1 Corinthians 13, the first thing he says is that love is patient. In other words, personifying the transforming love of God in our lives and being a living testimony of His presence happens mightily when we exercise patience.  

My friend, you are a patient person. Not by the power of your flesh, but through the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work within you, you have a supernatural ability to stay calm and persevere in love, even when the road you’re walking is longer than you expected. Since the Lord made you new on the inside, you have the privilege of responding to trouble and adversity with a divine composure that points directly to your Savior. Because you know that He is in control, you are unshakable in your devotion to treating everyone with dignity and respect, no matter how vehemently you may disagree with them. As a disciple of Jesus, this is your time to shine. Though it requires you to crucify your flesh, the blessing of quiet endurance pays big dividends in the Kingdom of God!