Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2 NIV
Be Patient
When it became possible for Canadians to travel, once pandemic restrictions were lifted last year, tens of thousands of us had to learn to be patient as we waited for our passport application to be processed. Prioritizing passports for those with travel plans as well as implementing triage measures in some metropolitan areas were only some of the measures put in place to help clear the backlog. Those with expired passports (up to 15 years) got new ones by processing them as renewals rather than new applications.
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Some people try your patience. Somebody posted on Facebook recently “I had my patience tested. I’m negative.” We’ve all been there. Our patience is tested and we react – not out of love, but out of the flesh. We regret it and wish we could take it back. Is there anything we can do about this? Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. As He fills our life, He works in us, watering us, pruning us, feeding our souls until we produce the kind of fruit that proves the power of Jesus in our lives. It starts with a humble attitude, the daily dying to self that ensures Jesus gets all the glory. As we die to self what others do and say to us and about us loses its power to cause us to react negatively. Out of the humility and dying to self comes the power of God to bear with others. Pray that the Lord will produce humility, gentleness and patience – and bearing with one another in love will naturally take place.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley