Disposition: the predominant or prevailing tendency of ones spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood

[Dictionary.com]

We often speak of patience as if it’s a limited commodity. Who could afford such a rare luxury? If you are like many people, patience seems to be incredibly elusive. Even our language regarding patience can tell us a lot about how well we understand it. And more importantly, how well we live it.

We say that patience has to do with waiting. We have to be patient sitting in traffic or standing in line at the checkout. A child has to be patient waiting for Christmas or summer vacation. And of course, every parent has heard countless times from the back seat of the car, “Are we there yet?”

We tend to associate patience with something we turn on in moments of inconvenience or irritation. Does patience really only have to do with the passing of time? Is patience really just a last resort when our situation gives us no choice but to wait?

Life is more than clocks and calendars. Society runs itself into the ground over schedules and deadlines. At every stage of life it seems like more and more comes down the responsibility pipeline! Life piles up with college, bills, spouses, kids, careers, and mortgages. We can find ourselves staring up at an unstoppable snowball of stress and pressure.

Somewhere along the line we agreed that this was all normal. It’s just the way it is if you want to get ahead. We learn to obsess over what is supposed to come next. This keeps us chasing life rather than living it.

This mindset even creeps into our discipleship. We can unknowingly think that keeping up with Christian activities and church programs produces Spiritual growth. We end up measuring ourselves against external appearances of success. We strive to be noticed. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that using the pattern of this world will achieve for us Kingdom results.

Discipleship is about personal maturity, not just public ministry. We must never allow the demands of a successful life to become unsustainable to our actual life. Christ-likeness is the result of obedience today, not opportunities tomorrow. The teachings of the New Testament focus on what is happening in our life now. We reverse the emphasis of scripture when we give disproportionate amounts of attention to “someday when.”

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matt 6:34 MSG)

God is not so concerned about what comes next. It is concerned about what comes first. Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness”(Matt 6:33). Matthew 6:33 is not a secret formula for getting what we need. It is a spiritual template for everyday life. When we obsess over what comes next we miss out on what is best. Are we keeping up with the Jones’ or seeking first the Kingdom? There is a big difference between keeping up and seeking first.

True patience is about a pace, not a race.

It is about a disposition, not a destination.

Patience is the pace of the soul. The predominate state of our inner world. I’ve heard lots of people describe God working in their lives as “God’s perfect timing.” I’d argue that life is much more about God’s perfect temperament. The work of God does not revolve around some divine cosmic calendar. God moves when His heart is moved. Aligning our expectations with the pace of the Spirit gives us a new paradigm for life. Waiting can be useful, not wasteful.

“What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting Him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.” (Romans 3:28 MSG)

There’s no such thing as Spirit led anxiety. Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life”(Matt 6:25). The Apostle Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything”(Phil 4:6). Worry is victim mentality. It’s just a polite way of saying that we are ruled by external outcomes. We are addicted to control. We’ve made idols out of the cares and concerns of this world.

We can lose so much peace simply because we think waiting is missing. We can so anxiously misinterpret the passing of time as the passing of our destiny. Our significance is not tied to time, or the loss of it. I’ve yet to hear anyone say they possessed the promises of God by rushing.

There is no excuse for laziness and apathy toward the things of God. But this doesn’t mean we strive and struggle either. The Apostle Paul says, “But Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6). Kingdom significance transcends time. It is timeless!