Patience with People

When I coached third and fourth-grade basketball, I had a wide range of talents. One kid could do anything he wanted, several knew what to do but weren’t great at it yet, and one boy had never played before. I had no idea how this kid would develop when the season started. But I was determined to be patient with him.

That patience paid off in a big way. He was like a sponge and soaked up everything I told him. When I saw him a few years later, he had kept playing and was much better than I expected.

One of the most challenging parts of the Christian life is patience. It could be about something you’ve prayed for, a direction in life to be revealed, or something else; being patient is tough. There is a reason for it, however.

In Luke 24, before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus told the disciples to go to the city and wait for the Spirit to come. The story continues in Acts 2:1: “When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.” This waiting time allowed people to gather in the city (Acts 2:5), where God gave them something they needed to take the Gospel to the world (Acts 2:2-4).

When we have patience with others, they grow in ways that impatience would not allow. When we have patience for God to work in our lives, we honor Him by letting Him be God over all, including ourselves. Be patient… God is at work.