Patient: able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

 
It doesn’t take long today, before you run into someone who has lost their patience. Take driving for instance. I am not in my car very long before I encounter someone with road-rage, or stand in a grocery store line very long before everyone is complaining. Seems as though the word ‘patient’ has been ripped out of our dictionary these days; however, it is still listed as one of the attributes of love in the Bible – in fact, it is listed first: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,” 1 Corinthians 13:4 NASB.

Our God is a patient and loving God, He doesn’t yell at us when we do things wrong, He forgives us. We need to be just as patient, loving, and forgiving. “The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,” 2 Timothy 2:24 NASB.

The Bible doesn’t say we won’t be treated wrong, it says we are to be patient when we are wronged, and we need to be patient in all things. Let’s say the following incident happens to you…

 
Your 3 year old accidentally knocks over his milk at lunch. Your reaction may look like this: “Sweetie, it’s ok; mommy knows it was just an accident.” Two minutes later your husband accidentally knocks over his glass of tea and your reaction may look more like this: “What is wrong with you, why can’t you watch what you are doing?!”

Both were purely accidental, right? But a patient love was shown in only one of the two incidents, while irritation was shown in the other. Think about it!
Prayer: Lord, help me to walk in love, showing patience in all situations. Help me to not have a short fuse when things go wrong.