Presented by Lauren Stibgen

Do you view patience as passive? Patience is anything but passive behavior. In fact, patience is powerful. Remembering God’s power, his patience, and the fact that we are made in his image can help us rethink this attribute.

In our society, patience often is viewed as quiet, timid, and, as I stated a moment ago, passive. We get this sense of waiting—somewhat of a pause. This waiting, patience, and pause can give us the space we need to advance in ways that remain unseen by others until the moment of action.

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone (Proverbs 25:15).

Think about the art of persuasion. We hear about it in business a lot. Persuasion is defined as the action or fact of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something through reason or argument.

Persuasion isn’t fast. It requires patience. Patience to learn about someone’s objections to what you are trying to get them to believe, patience to prepare for how you want to present your idea or solution, patience to get the other party to even be willing to meet with you, patience to meet on more than one occasion. I could go on with this list.

Resisting the urge to impatiently blurt out what you want, why your way is better, why your company should win a bid, or why what you want or need is imperative. It can mean the difference between ultimately winning and losing.

Patience listens. Patience walks away and thinks. Patience is not argumentative. In Proverbs 25:15, we read that a soft tongue will break a bone. To me, this feels like well thought out, patient words. Words that are planned in advance and not hasty and harsh. Words that are considerate of the other person’s point of view. Ultimately, this soft approach can break someone who has a long-held point of view.

Our aim with using the fruit of the Spirit of patience with persuasion and a soft tongue should be more about sharing the gospel than it is about winning in our work, business, or career. The biggest win for us is to see someone know the saving power of Jesus!