The Art of Patience

There are seasons in life when the future feels foggy. You want answers… and instead, God gives you silence. Or at least that’s what it feels like.

Recently, I found myself wanting clarity more than anything. Where am I going? What am I doing next? Why don’t I have the answers I thought I’d have by now?

But instead of giving me direction, God gave me something far better:

Patience.
Not the weak, passive kind.
The gritty, faithful, present kind.

And I think many of us walk through seasons like this — moments of transition, unknowns, deferred hopes, and rewrites to the plans we thought were solid. And while I don’t have the answers about your next season, I can speak to the one thing God has been drilling into me:

Patience.

WHAT IS PATIENCE REALLY?

The dictionary calls patience

“the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.”

The Bible often ties it to endurance. Perseverance. Steadfastness.

But here’s my definition:

Patience: The ability to live peacefully in the present.

Impatience is always tied to the future — to the way we expected things to go.

We get impatient with time when our plan gets interrupted.
We get impatient with people when they slow us down or shift our focus.
We get impatient with the present when it doesn’t look like the future we imagined.

And when we live that way, we are constantly pulled out of the moment God has placed us in.

WHY THE PRESENT FEELS SO HARD TO STAY IN

Let me be honest — impatience hits me hardest with time. If something derails my plan for the day, I feel it immediately. I start fighting the moment I’m in, instead of living it.

And maybe you’ve felt that too.

Think about it:

On a normal Monday, you might not love going to work, but you handle it.
But imagine you thought you had Monday off — and then you find out you don’t.

Suddenly the same Monday feels heavier, more frustrating, more unfair.

The present didn’t actually change.
Only your expectation did.

This is the heart of impatience:
We suffer not because the moment is bad…
but because the moment is different than we pictured.

THE ANTIDOTE TO IMPATIENCE: GRATITUDE FOR TODAY

Jesus said:

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow… Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:34

And:

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24

Not tomorrow.
Not the future you’re trying to engineer.
Today.

If you’re always living for tomorrow, you’ll never be grateful for the breath God gave you today. And without gratitude, patience becomes nearly impossible.

A STORY ABOUT COUNTING DOWN — AND WAKING UP

A couple months ago, I told my wife, “Only 60 days until I see you.”

She replied gently, “No… only 60 days left to fully enjoy this season. Enjoy it. Soak it in. We’ll be here.”

At first, I thought she didn’t understand how much I missed her.

But she was right.

If all I do is look ahead to what’s next, I’ll miss the experiences God is giving me right now — experiences I’ll one day look back on with nostalgia, realizing I took them for granted.

Or as Andy Bernard once said in The Office,

“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

The truth is:
You are in the good old days.
Right now.
These moments — the highs and the lows — are shaping something in you that you will one day thank God for.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to look for what is pure, noble, excellent, and praiseworthy — because there is always something good in the present, even when the present feels imperfect.

And so the first step to patience is simple:

1. BE PRESENT

Be in this moment.
Find the blessing here.
Find the lesson here.
Find the joy here.

Your life is happening right now.
Don’t miss it.

2. EMBRACE THE HARDSHIPS

Hardship is where patience becomes real.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12

“The testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” – James 1:2–4

God is not asking you to enjoy your hardships.
He’s asking you to value what they produce.

I love working out. But let’s be real — if the results were the same whether I lifted weights or watched Netflix… I'm picking Netflix every time.

The joy isn’t in the pain.
The joy is in the growth.

Your trials are sculpting you.
Your afflictions are chiseling you.
You are God’s workmanship — His masterpiece.

And you can’t rush a masterpiece.

The bible says that if you let patience (steadfastness) have its full effect, you will become:

“Perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

A patient person lacks nothing — because they trust God to provide everything in His time.

3. TRUST GOD’S TIMING (NOT YOUR OWN)

Here’s the hard part:

You and I are terrible planners.

We plan our whole lives like we know what we’re doing — and then get frustrated when God steps in and reroutes us.

But His timing is better.
His wisdom is better.
His plan is better.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Patience doesn’t mean giving up.
It doesn’t mean abandoning your goals.

It means working diligently while trusting God with the results.

It means knowing that delay is not denial.
Setbacks are not failures.
Obstacles are opportunities.

A patient man sees failure as a lesson.
A patient woman sees delay as direction.
A patient person sees obstacles as training.

And so Paul reminds us:

“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

At the proper time.
Not your time.

God’s time.

SO WHAT IS PATIENCE?

Patience is:

-Being present in the moment God has given you.

-Embracing the hardships as part of your shaping.

-Trusting His timing over your own.

Patience isn’t passive.
It’s powerful.
It’s rebellious.
It’s choosing peace in a world obsessed with speed.

There is a time for everything — a time to start, a time to end, a time to walk away, and a time to press in. You don’t need to know the timing. You just need to trust the One who does.

Life won’t slow down.
The world won’t get easier.
But you can live differently.

You can live patiently —
fully here, fully present, fully surrendered —
because you know you are God’s workmanship…
and His plan is better than yours.

To be a Rebel in Faith is to be patient in faith.