I’m starting to realize that God’s patience is not just something I need to learn about — it’s something I desperately need to receive. Not mentally acknowledge, not highlight in my Bible, not recite in small group — but truly receive.
And honestly, I think that’s where the disconnect is for most of us — myself included.
We know God is patient. We say He’s patient. We quote scriptures like:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you…”
— 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
But the question I’ve been wrestling with lately is:
How infiltrated am I by that patience?

Have I let it change me? Form me?
Can people feel God’s patience through me?
This morning, while I was driving and thinking through all the things I had to do, I got irritated over a five-minute delay. Five minutes. And then the Holy Spirit just dropped this quiet conviction in my spirit:
“You receive My mercy but reject My pace.”
That hit me hard.
I love being forgiven quickly, but I don’t love having to forgive slowly. I love that God is long-suffering with me, but I expect other people to mature overnight. And I hate to admit this, but even when I ask God for patience, I expect an instant download, not a process.
I’m reminded of the servant in Matthew 18:23-35 — the one forgiven a massive debt by his king but then turned around and refused mercy to someone who owed him very little. That story always hits a nerve. Especially the end:
“Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny.”
— Matthew 18:34 (NLT)
And Jesus wasn’t just talking about money. He was warning us about what unforgiveness and impatience do to the soul. They don’t just strain relationships. They imprison us.

And here’s what I’ve been reflecting on:
Impatience may not land us in a literal jail cell, but it absolutely locks our souls up.
It steals our peace.
It ruins our perspective.
It makes our relationships tense and transactional.
It makes us bitter with God and demanding of others.
The wild part? God doesn’t just demand patience from us — He actually offers it to us. It’s part of the fruit of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
— Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
It’s something He produces in us — when we stay connected to Him.
And I think that’s the shift I’m starting to embrace:
Instead of striving for patience, I want to abide in Christ and let patience grow out of the intimacy.
But growth takes time.
Fruit takes time.
Patience takes… well… patience.
Have I asked God to grow patience in me? Yes.
Have I grown frustrated when it didn’t happen fast enough? Absolutely.
But I’m learning that asking God for patience means He’s going to give me opportunities to practice it, not just the feeling of it. He’ll place me in moments where I have to choose it. And not once or twice, but daily. Repeatedly.
The deeper truth is that the world we live in is constantly forming us to be impatient. Fast food. Same-day delivery. Quick replies. Instant results. We’re conditioned to expect immediacy.

But God moves at a different pace.
He works in seasons, not seconds.
He transforms in silence, not speed.
And if I want to become more like Him — more loving, more rooted, more whole — then I have to trust His pace as much as I trust His plans.
That’s hard for me. I like control. I like efficiency. I like clarity. But patience asks me to sit in the unknown and remain kind. It asks me to endure discomfort without becoming bitter. It calls me to wait without losing hope.
And maybe most importantly… patience reminds me that God hasn’t given up on people, so neither should I.
Whether it’s that friend who keeps making poor choices, or the family member I’m tempted to give up on, or even me — the parts of myself I wish would hurry up and grow already — I’m learning to offer the same patience I’ve received.
Because God has been so, so patient with me.

Father,
I thank You for Your patience — not just in principle, but in the lived-out way You’ve walked with me through every season of my mess, my doubt, my delay, my rebellion, and my apathy.
You have never rushed me.
You have never given up on me.
You’ve waited with grace, over and over again.
Teach me to do the same — with others and with myself.
Let Your Spirit cultivate real, lasting patience in me.
Not shallow tolerance, but true, Christlike forbearance — the kind that is rooted in love, not ego.
Help me surrender my timeline.
Help me stop measuring growth by speed.
Help me trust Your pace even when I don’t understand it.
Let Your patience shape my perspective, steady my emotions, and soften my expectations.
I don’t want to just learn about Your patience.
I want to be formed by it.
I want to be infiltrated by it.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Reflection to Self

The next time I feel that quick sting of impatience rise up — whether it’s with people, my job, my future, or even with God — I want to pause and ask:
“Have I forgotten how patient He’s been with me?”
Because if I truly received His patience, I’d be slower to speak, slower to judge, and quicker to love.
And that’s who I want to be — not just a woman who knows about God’s patience, but one who lives it.


































