It’s easier to notice your lack
of patience. It isn’t as obvious for me
to notice when my soul is so connected to Christ that it has been transformed
to a place of supernatural patience resulting from the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. On those rare occasions that I
feel that way, I know I am experiencing holy patience. I wish I could say that I live in a constant
state of holy patience. I’m glad to have
the experience of this intimacy with God that brings out something from me that
is better than I am.
It makes me wonder about my lack
of holy patience and why it is still apparent in my life even after I know what
it is like to experience what God gives me.
I surprise myself by how cranky I can get about a driver who pushes his
way in front of me or a long line at the grocery store. I wonder why I still let myself get to that
state when I know how peaceful and wonderful it is to experience the broken
realities of this world with the assurance that God is in control and working
in a mighty way, especially in strenuous circumstances.
But when I have an experience of
holy patience both inside and out, it stands out to me. Other people may think that I am more patient
than I am. It is not true. I am a calm person by nature and don’t
regularly demonstrate my frantic state to others. That doesn’t mean that I am experiencing holy
patience, rather it is evidence of my personality type. The holy patience I am talking about is
experienced by all personality types. It
is a supernatural peace, love and trust in God. It is what God wants to give to every
Christian.
Jesus described how we can
function in the constant state of holiness in John 5:4-6:
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you
remain in me. I am the vine; you are the
branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the
fire and burned.
I don’t
consciously lose touch with the reality of remaining in Jesus as a branch
remains in a vine. It is usually a
subconscious effort. It comes naturally
for me to remain in the world, worrying about how I’m going to get it all done
or what is going to break next. All
along Jesus calls me to remain in Him and bear fruit supernaturally. This supernatural fruit shows up as love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, and more.
I like to
bear God’s fruit of holy patience. It is
good for the soul.
Copyright © 2013. Deborah
R. Newman www.teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights Reserved.
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