The fruit of the Spirit is...patience...

Patience: n.

1. Tolerant and even-tempered perseverance.
2. The capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc.*

Are these words that describe you, soldier? They describe one of the components of the fruit of the Spirit. Notice that the fruit of the Spirit includes patience; but notice further that implicit in the above definition is the fact that, just because one is a Christ follower, he is not exempt from "enduring pain, [and] trying situations." Consider Hosea, called by God not only to be a prophet (Hosea 1:1), but also to marry a prostitute! (Hosea 1:2) Do you think that would require "tolerant and even-tempered perseverance?"

Wouldn't it be wonderful if becoming a Christian meant that you would never have any trouble again? That is, unfortunately, not the case. Instead, God has made another provision: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus certainly did not lack for pain and trying situations; but He did have the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:1)

James writes,

"² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4)

Apparently, God has a reason for allowing us to get into situations which require "the capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc." They test our faith and produce patience. Remember, Lieutenant, God's mission is not to make you happy, but to make you holy. Consider Job. He lost his fortune, his family, his home, his health. His response?

"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.(Job 1:21-22)

By contrast Job's wife quickly lost patience with her circumstances:

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)

Why was Job blessed with patience, whereas his wife was not? Notice that Job's focus is on God: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." His wife on the other hand was focused on the circumstances. When she saw her husband covered with boils and scraping his skin with a potsherd for relief, she told him to "Curse God and die."

The Holy Spirit is the source of patience. (Galatians 5:22-23) Paul wrote to the Galatians: "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." (Galatians 5:17-19) He also wrote to the Ephesians:

...be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20, emphasis added)

This is a pretty succinct description of being filled with or walking in the Spirit. What is the essence of what Paul is saying here? Singing hymns, speaking psalms, making melodies to God in our hearts, and giving thanks in the name of Jesus IS walking in the spirit.

So, it appears that patience is a natural outcome of walking in the Spirit, which is merely this: focus on Jesus and not on this world. Impatience, by contrast is the result of walking in the flesh, as Job's wife did. When we focus on the "pain and trying circumstances," we inevitably become fearful, frustrated and impatient. When we focus on Jesus, who is bigger than our circumstances, the indwelling Holy Spirit bears fruit in our lives, including patience.

In a previous post, I wrote about the fact that the battlefield on which our spiritual warfare is conducted is in the human mind. Putting on the full armor of God, (Ephesians 6:11) is a matter of walking in the Spirit, or focusing our minds on Jesus. Satan would like nothing better than to have you lose your patience. If you have lost your patience, it is likely that you are not walking in the Spirit. And that is when you are most vulnerable to Satan's attacks.

Remember, sailor, you are not fighting this war for victory; you are fighting this war from victory. Satan is already defeated, but he would like nothing better than to have you forget that and go down with him. So, put on the full armor of God...and have patience. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.