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Why You Should Be Patient with Yourself

Writer's picture: Tiffani G.Tiffani G.
"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." - James 1:4
Blog Article titled The Importance of Being Patient with Yourself

One of the main fruits or skills that we need as Christians is patience. I often think of it in terms of waiting for something- something outside of me that I'm trying to get or just hoping for. But when the Lord told me, 'you need to be patient with yourself', it broadened my perspective of patience. Here is why it's important to exercise self-patience:


Change takes time

Like many, I’ve had quite a few things that I’ve wanted to change about myself whether that be physical or spiritual. Anyone who has had a gym transformation can tell you that it takes time. You won’t healthily lose the weight that you want to overnight or get the gains that you desire in a matter of hours, but if you are patient and consistent in your journey it will happen. This is the same with spiritual. We don’t grow our fruits of the Spirit overnight. Whether we are aware of it or not, those fruits start off as little seeds that have been planted in us throughout the years. Throughout time and within the perfect moment, that seed grows and eventually produces fruit, which leads to the lasting change that the Lord desires of us.


Quick growth doesn’t last

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” - Proverbs 13:11

There is a well spoken phrase that anything worth while takes time. This is true in the physical and spiritual. When we begin to develop our relationship with God, we can be easily moved or swayed in the beginning by life’s storms due to not having a firm foundation. I specifically remember certain struggles that I went through especially in sickness to the point where I began to doubt if God was still with me. But as I continued to steward our relationship and remembered my past testimonies of Him, I became not so easily moved by my problems.


Our relationship with Him takes time. Growing in trust with Him takes time. If we put false expectations upon ourselves to be the most holiest, trusting, and dedicated Christian in one day, we end up growing weary and it only makes us more observant of our inadequacies. Take your time and trust in God knowing that He will perfect everything about you in due time and as you can handle it.

A flower blooming with patience

Self-patience grows our grace and patience for others

We are called to not just live a life centered around ourselves and our own wishes, but to be fully involved in the lives of others, so much so that we also esteem them over ourselves. However, it is very hard to stay committed to this calling if we have no patience or tolerance for people.


I remember the Lord telling me that I treated others the way I treated myself- high expectations, lack of grace, and a "you should know better" attitude when it came to wrongdoings. He was right of course. I expected perfection out of myself and even though I didn't know it at the time, I expected perfection out of people as well. As I began to see how much I needed the Lord's grace, even when I thought I was doing things perfectly, my heart began to change towards others as well. I started to see bits of myself in them and it brought me back to the grace and forgiveness that the Lord constantly shows me. The more I grew in patience, the easier it was for me to give it out as well. The same patience that we need is the same patience that others need, whether we struggle with the same things or not.

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel! He must be kind to everyone. He must be a good teacher. He must be patient." -2 Timothy 2:24 ICB

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