Fruit of The Spirit: Learning to Live At God's Pace

As we continue through our exploration of the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, we finally come to patience.  Aren't you glad you waited?

That last joke wasn't particularly funny, and neither is having to be patient.  

My house has been for sale for sixteen months in what has become a lousy real estate market in Austin, TX.  If I had sold my house a couple of years ago, it would have been different, but that's a story for another day. 

Through this long process, I have learned patience and the humility that comes from having no control over the outcome.  I changed realtors a few months ago, and my new realtor assured me that my house would sell, but it would have to be for the right buyer (an obvious point, but one that needed to be made).  

As it turns out, the right buyer came along, and my house is currently under contract.  And now I'm having to learn a new kind of patience, the kind that teaches you that a real estate deal isn't done until the money gets wired into your account.  

All of this has caused me to reflect on not only the long wait to sell my house, but also the patience to not make myself sick with worry as I wait for the process to complete. 

Patience is one of the most misunderstood fruits of the Spirit. We often think of it as passive waiting or quiet endurance, something we practice when circumstances force us to slow down. But biblical patience is far more active and far more demanding. Patience is the spiritual discipline of trusting God’s timing when everything in us wants resolution now.

Scripture consistently describes God as patient. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). God’s patience is not indifference; it is love that refuses to give up on unfinished people. Peter reminds the early church, “The Lord is not slow about his promise… but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish” (2 Peter 3:9). God’s pace is shaped by mercy, not urgency.

Our impatience often reveals where we are trying to control outcomes—our own growth, other people’s change, or God’s responses. We want clarity, healing, reconciliation, and justice on our timetable. Yet Scripture invites us into a slower, deeper trust. “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him,” the psalmist writes (Psalm 37:7). Stillness becomes an act of faith.

Patience grows when we accept that transformation is rarely instant. The fruit of the Spirit does not ripen overnight. Like any living thing, it develops through seasons—some visible, some hidden. James encourages believers to see waiting not as wasted time, but as formative time: “Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete” (James 1:4).

Jesus models patience in his relationships. He walks with confused disciples, answers the same questions repeatedly, and remains faithful even when they fail him. His patience creates space for growth rather than demanding perfection.

Patience, then, is not weakness. It is strength shaped by trust. It is choosing to believe that God is at work even when progress feels slow. When we stop rushing what God is still forming, patience becomes a quiet confidence that grace is doing its work.

Prayer
Patient God, slow our hearts and steady our spirits. Teach us to trust your timing and remain faithful in the waiting. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. Where do you feel most impatient right now?

2. What might God be forming in you through waiting?

3. How does remembering God’s patience toward you shape your response to others?