Weekly Devotional: Fruit of the Spirit – Forbearance

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Forbearance can also be known as patience.

Patience really comes into play when dealing with children. Sometimes it looks like baby cousins in the family and sometimes it can be babysitting little tots. Sometimes it takes a round of the “silent game” to just get some quiet for a brief moment so that you can take a deep breath.

This idea of patience is a very trick subject. Scripture gives us some beautiful images of what maintaining patience does.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

When we are confronted with difficult times, it is very easy to give into outbursts, stresses and tempers. Instead, we can turn to this verse from Galatians.

When we are weary, our persistence and patience with a situation is not to be done in vain. At the proper time, we will see the harvest of our work, despite the stresses that are obstacles.

When we have the Spirit in us that is outpouring patience into our lives, we need to allow that to take place. Just because the Spirit is at a constant work in our life doesn’t mean that we can sit back and idly watch. It means that we have to make a conscious effort to make strides to resting in the patience that the Spirit gives us.

Take a step back and breathe.

Read more devotionals, including our Fruit of the Spirit series, by checking out our past blog posts.