“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

James 1:19 (NIV)

Patience. It seemed like a good choice for some spiritual reflection and Bible study as I sat in my isolation room with COVID-19. I had managed to avoid the dreaded illness for over two years, but now it was my turn. It takes patience to be a good patient; for one who is ill and for their family. For the record, my family did an excellent job taking care of themselves and me! 

The book I chose was “Patience” from “Nine Fruits of the Spirit - A Complete Devotion Series” by Robert Strand. In the beginning, the author explains the meaning behind the Greek word for patience, makrothumia. The first half of this word literally means anger and the other half means “long or slow.”  So, patience means “anger slow?” That really resonated with me. I’ve always thought of patience as just putting up with something. Hanging in there until the time came. Not getting annoyed. I struggle with patience, and I always have. I am a very “get it done” kind of girl; I want what I want, when I want it. While it is excellent for renovation projects, holding parties and closing deals, that attitude does not lend itself well to relationships with people.

Anger slowly. That made more sense to me because it doesn’t take anger out of the equation. We all know that there is justifiable anger, righteous anger. There are plenty of references in the Bible to God’s anger at sin and evil people: the moneychangers in the temple whose tables Jesus flipped over or the destruction of Nineveh.

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3

Slow to anger…that is a phrase that is familiar to me; we hear about it often to describe God. We humans have desperately wicked hearts; our greatest desires to please God can so easily be derailed by pride and the sin that so easily entangles us. But, God. 

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8 

I believe that God is at work within me and within you, and He’s faithful to complete the work that He started. He will continue to do so until we are with Him in Heaven. The Holy Spirit works within us to make us more and more like Him. This means that we can exhibit the fruits of the Spirit as we mature in our Christian walk. Patience = slow to anger, just like our Heavenly Father.

The author of the devotional also equated the concept of being slow to anger with forgiveness. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18:22 that we are to forgive seventy times seven times, which we know our loving Heavenly Father does for us. I believe that He would have to be pretty slow to anger in order to do that! We are commanded to love one another while we’re here on this earth with the love of Christ. Let us remember the cautionary tale of the unmerciful servant whose master forgave him much but could not pass that forgiveness on to his fellow servant. Let us handle our anger slowly; just as our patient God has first demonstrated to us.

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring justice to the under-resourced.

Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey! She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University.

Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah serves on the Deacon Team at Willowdale Chapel.