Everyone?

Patience is the fourth fruit of the Spirit and our focus for today!

"...encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Patient with everyone? Really? You mean that I have to be patient with that crazy person who cut me off on the road this morning, or that moody cashier that won't honor the sale price, or my kids who don't care to listen to me? Really? YES.

Patience is one of those fruits that can be the hardest to cultivate. However, the Holy Spirit gave it to you so don't think that He is going to leave you on your own when it comes to making it work in your life. In the verse above Paul is writing and telling his brothers in Christ how they need to be acting to each other and everyone else. When he mentions being patient he didn't just say, "be patient." No, that would have easily been misconstrued by the brothers to mean that they only had to be patient with each other. Paul took care of that misunderstanding before it started by saying, "be patient with everyone." Now there was no mistaking what Paul meant.

It is pretty easy to identify a Christian who is practicing the patience that the Holy Spirit has given them. However, it is much easier to identify a Christian who is not practicing the patience that the Holy Spirit has given them. Which are you?