Whenever I have thought about the topic of patience in the past, it has always been in terms of “short-term” patience. However, after walking with my friend this past week & a half through her intense complex spine surgery I now have a completely new perspective on the concept of patience.
Yes, it is good to have “short-term” patience. It is good to hold our tongue and not “shoot off sparks” at other people when we are aggravated or annoyed. It is good to have a “long fuse.” It is good to “let the little things go.”
“A person’s wisdom gives them patience; it is to their glory to overlook an offense.” – Proverbs 19:11
“A patient person calms a quarrel.” – Proverbs 15:18
Yes, love is patient in the “short term.” However, if we want to take it to the next level, we could say that love is patient in the “long haul!”
My friend’s complex spine surgery involved the surgeon cutting her back open from her shoulder blades down to her lower back, moving all the back muscles over & out of the way, then completely re-building/reinforcing her spine with two sets of vertical rods, held together with screws all down the length of the spine.
This was intense surgery!
It will take months before my friend is fully recovered from this surgery. It will be a very long, slow recovery process.
The day after her surgery, I was with her in the hospital when her surgeon spoke with her on the phone. That particular day she was having a “good day.” However, the surgeon let her know that she could expect to have some really hard days! (sure enough, the very next day was a really hard day!)
The surgeon explained to my friend that her recovery will be an “up & down” recovery, day by day … but by the week she will notice considerable improvement.
The surgeon further explained that after the first week, my friend could expect the second week to be considerably better (despite the really hard days in between). Then after the second week, my friend could expect the third week to be considerably better (despite the really hard days mixed in). And so on … and so forth.
Watching my friend’s recovery this past week & a half, my mind has been blown wide open when it comes to the concept of patience.
God has patience with us!
Always in the past, I’ve thought: “Good! I’m glad God is patient with me. Because I make lots of mistakes and I’m a work-in-progress.”
But seeing my friend – first-hand – and the patience required for her recovery … this is what my spiritual life is like! This right there!
When we each realize (individually) that we are a sinner and have desperately fallen short of God’s holiness, we realize that we need “spiritual surgery.” We need God to remove our old, sinful nature (or we could say our old sinful heart) … and we need God to give us a brand-new nature (or we could say a brand-new clean heart).
It happens in an instant! In a moment! There is no long pre-surgery process.
When we admit to God that we are a sinner in desperate need of a Savior, God instantaneously does “spiritual heart surgery” on us! In that moment God instantly removes our old sinful nature … and God instantly gives us a brand-new nature.
It is not painful like my friend’s spine surgery.
But … the process of growing in holiness (the fancy theological word for this is: sanctification) this is a long-haul process of patience!
My friend now has a “new” spine. It is going to be a long-haul process of patience for her current spine to fuse together – bone-to-bone.
It is going to be a long-haul process of patience to deal with the “ups & downs” of recovery.
It is going to be a long-haul process of patience for her to give her body the time it needs to heal and “become new.”
It is going to be a long-haul process of patience to follow the instructions: No bending! No twisting! No lifting!
This exact same thing occurs when it comes to our “spiritual surgery” of God giving us a brand-new spiritual nature. It is a long-haul process of patience for us to become more and more like Jesus Christ.
Spiritually speaking, it is a long-haul process of patience as we deal with “ups & downs.” We’ll have “good days” when we feel like everything is great in our new spiritual relationship with God. Our faith feels strong & vibrant! We are reading God’s Word (the Bible) and learning how God wants us to live!
And then we will have “really hard days” when we mess up! We fall back into sinful patterns of behavior. We feel like we “let God down.” We “blow it!”
And just like my friend’s surgeon explained to her that “ups & downs” are part of the process, so also “ups & downs” are part of our spiritual sanctification process. It takes patience! It takes long-haul patience.
And likewise, just as the surgeon explained that by the week there will be considerable improvement … so also, in our spiritual sanctification process, we will see considerable improvement month-by-month, year-by-year. We don’t have bone fusing together with bone, but rather our spiritual nature/heart is being fused together with God’s own heart.
Just as my friend needs to have long-haul patience to give her body the time it needs to heal and “become new” … so also, we likewise need to have long-haul patience with ourselves as we give ourselves time to be made more and more like Jesus – by the Holy Spirit’s healing power & work in our life.
And not only that … others around us are also in the process of being made more and more like Jesus, by the Holy Spirit’s work in their life. They too are in their own sanctification process.
We need to have long-haul patience with them! We need to have long-haul patience to give them the time they need as they are being “made new” in holiness & righteousness. Long-haul patience with our spouse. Long-haul patience with our kids. Long-haul patience with our family members. Long-haul patience with our friends. Etc. etc. etc. …
Love is patient.
Love is patient in the short-term. Love holds its tongue and doesn’t “shoot off sparks” at other people when aggravated or annoyed. Love has a “long fuse.” Love “lets the little things go.”
Love is also patient in the long-haul!
Love realizes this is a process. It is going to take time. Love is patient through the “ups & downs” of the long-haul. Love doesn’t leave when it gets hard. Love doesn’t give up. Love doesn’t quit. Love hangs in there!
Love is patient!
“Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” – Ephesians 4:2
“A patient person has great understanding.” – Proverbs 14:29
(As an aside – I chose this particular photo of this particular lighthouse because this lighthouse is in the process of being restored. Renovation & restoration is a long-haul process. It doesn’t look “perfect” while in the process. It will take time. This is what long-haul patience looks like.)
