Church Message

I am certain that many of us have heard the phrase, “patience is a virtue.” Many people like to give it place in the bible, however, that is not the case. According to biblestudytools.com the phrase “patience is a virtue” did not occur any time during the Old or New Testament. In fact, our first record of this phrase comes from the 1300s from William Langland in his poem Piers Plowman. We can trace a Latin version of this phrase back to the 4^th Century AD in a work called Dicta Catonis, a Latin moral poem. But the phrase does not appear to have a biblical origin.

During my childhood we learned the passage, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” It is recorded in Isaiah 40:31. What first comes to mind every time I am impatiently waiting is that it’s a virtue. However, neither one said it was easy. Waiting is hard whether it’s at a stop light, in a checkout line, or even waiting on your local pastor to finish his sermon.

Waiting develops character, and it’s how we wait that really tests us. What is our attitude while we wait? Are we showing the life of Christ in us while we wait? It is more than just experiencing the goal of what you are waiting for, but that our faith is developing while we wait. Keep your peace while you wait. I have been in a season of this and it reminds me that I need to wait, well. I want others to see Christ in me while I wait. So don’t quit, don’t pout, don’t retaliate, but wait, well.