The Process of Patience

Presented by Lisa Bishop

We are familiar with that well-known expression “patience is a virtue,” and we know that patience is also a Christ-like characteristic. As followers of Jesus, we are called to exercise patience in our lives as we put Jesus on display. Although we are aware that we are to practice this virtue, admittedly it’s also something we can find hard to exhibit. At least I know I can. I can’t tell you how many times I have lacked patience and prayed for more of it.

A few weeks ago, I spent the day with my cousin Jessica at the Art Institute of Chicago. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it! I am definitely not an art aficionado, but I do value culture and creating memorable experiences. My love language is quality time after all, so getting to spend the day with my cousin filled my tank. As we were walking through the halls of what is hailed to be one of the largest art museums in the world, we came across the Canova exhibit. It showcased the work of Antonio Canova who is said to be the most celebrated European artist of his time and is renowned for his marble statues that convey a sense of “ideal beauty with remarkable lifelikeness.” As I walked through the exhibit, I marveled at the intricacies of the marble statues on display. The exhibit had a video playing in the background demonstrating the process of creating the beautiful statues from start to finish. It showed what it looks like for an artist with his tools to carefully chip away at what, to the eye, looks to be just a block of marble, until a beautiful masterpiece eventually appears.

As with many artists, before even one strike of the chisel, Conova already saw what the marble block would become. His vision for the piece was already determined. It would just take time and a (sometimes) painstaking process to bring his masterpiece to life; ultimately, it would reveal every predetermined, beautiful, meticulous detail. One of his famous sculptures, Cupid’s Kiss, is said to have taken six years to create. I can only imagine the amount of patience it must have taken over those six years to see his vision come to reality.

One dictionary definition describes patience as, “The ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed.” I will be the first to raise my hand and say that many times I have failed the patience test. Yet, the Bible tells us that patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. As you mature in your faith, you are to grow in patience. And growing in patience is rarely easy. In order to grow in this Christlike character, it often means being in a situation that requires it. I know that at times I have prayed for patience only to experience a situation, or shall I say “opportunity,” that was the means to produce this fruit of the Spirit in me.

The Greek word translated to patience in the New Testament means, “The characteristic of a person who is not swerved from his/her deliberate purpose or loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings.”

What is an area of your life that may be currently trying your patience? Is there something you desire or something you have been waiting for that seems like it’s taking forever? What might be a situation in your life that requires steadfastness, faithfulness, and endurance?

When you are presented with circumstances that warrant patience, your faith can be tested. But God, in his faithfulness, will produce something beautiful in the waiting.

I was talking to a friend the other day, and she was describing what she calls the “messy middle.” Her life and career had been taking one direction when suddenly it took a massive detour she did not see coming. Now, for the past three years, she has been in the process of waiting and wondering what God is doing.

What’s your messy middle?