“Patience is the fruit of faith in God’s faithfulness.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 2, 2025
by Mez Stead
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
How often have you heard the quip, “Patience is a virtue”? In fact, patience is more than that – it is a fruit of the Spirit. And how very apt. If you have ever attempted to grow fruit, you will know just how much patience it requires. Gardeners understand something about patience. In an act of faith, they plant tiny seeds in still frosty ground. And then, they wait. What is happening beneath the soil remains a mystery, but the gardener waits patiently because she believes that something, invisible though it may be to her eye, is happening. And then one day, her patience is repaid with the miraculous sight of tiny green shoots breaking through the soil. Patience is born out of faith.
Patience does not come naturally to human nature. We live in a culture that is proof of our lack of it – from ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes on the internet to next-day delivery of all things, to binge-watching, humanity employs every ounce of ingenuity to remove the necessity of waiting for what we want. That is precisely why we must be filled with the Spirit if we want to produce the fruit of patience. When we endure through a hard season, hold out hope through a difficult relationship, pray on for a lost friend, or simply faithfully carry out our mundane duties unto the Lord, it is a sign of faith maturing, faith that proclaims tenaciously that, even when the eye cannot see it, God is still working. And where faith matures, you can be sure of a harvest to come.
An amateur gardener myself, I invited my three-year-old son to plant seeds with me under the delusion that he might learn something about patience. The lesson, it turned out, was all to my benefit. When draught delayed our tomato seedlings’ growth, or deer munched a thriving cucumber vine down to a twig, I was ready to throw up my hands and give up. Not my son. He rejoiced in the smallest hint of life, the tiny bud resiliently sprouted on the end of the devoured cucumber vine. He is patient to wait and see what will grow because he doesn’t flatter himself in control of the garden. He knows the soil, the sun, the rain, and the God of nature are always at their work. When we have the faith of a child, only then can we have the patience of a saint.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, renew my faith in the faithful, never-ceasing work of God, so that I may be filled with the fruit of patience. Grant me perseverance in the hard and weary places of my life with joyful assurance that the Father works all these things together for my good and His perfect plan. Amen.
Application
If we desire more patience, we must grow in childlike faith that God sees us in our trials and is working for our good through them.
Related Reading
Isaiah 40:31; Hebrews 6:11-12, 19; Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 1:11; Romans 8:24-25
Worship Resource
Ellie Holcomb: Wait for You
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