The biblical word “Patience” has been so limited that its effectiveness has greatly diminished. Patience seems to have limited its purpose to the here and now. In other words, patience is used only for immediate situations. The believer waits with the determination that God will answer his prayer. The problem is that we dilute Patience with impatience. By limiting Patience to immediate situations, we miss the full implication of the word.

The word Patience comes from the Greek word hupomone, which means “joyful endurance.” The power of this word can open the door to a full life. It should not be used sparingly, but as a way of life. It is literally believing and trusting that Jesus will accomplish his purposes as evidenced by our cheerful perseverance.

The Epistle of James shares with us an aspect of Patience that is activated in times of temptation. Many times when we face trials and challenges, we cry out to Jesus for help. I have never seen so many believers asking Jesus for help as during these difficult times in which we live. The cry of “come soon Lord Jesus” has dominated the paths of prayer to Heaven. The look on the faces of so many Believers quickly identifies their ignorance of the true meaning of the word Patience. James even draws attention to those who “fall into various temptations.” They should “tell” those tests with joy at full speed. The test of Faith opens the door for Patience to have “its perfect work”. Patience moves from challenging circumstances to rest in the character of Jesus. Mature patience leads the believer to a fullness in which “nothing is lacking.” (James 1:2-4)

James continually insists on the importance of patience in the lives of believers. He urges Christians to be patient until the coming of the Lord. As Patience has the perfect work of him, our hearts will be established as we joyfully rest in Him knowing that his second coming is imminent. (James 5:7, 8)

Instead of seeing Patience as a quick answer to life’s difficult challenges, let’s see Patience as the gateway to Kingdom life. Believers tend to limit God to time constraints, while God’s Will supersedes time.

Through knowledge of the Scriptures we can define biblical terms, but it is only through wisdom that we know how to translate those words into action. James states that if we lack wisdom we should ask God to grant us that wisdom. (James 1:5) Christians have a lot of knowledge, but they lack how to put that knowledge into practice. How do we put Patience into action? To understand Patience we need to have wisdom. Patience knows and grows in the certainty that God’s Will will be done according to his time and not by our “vigils”.

When we do not allow Patience to completely reign in our lives, we will never learn to achieve victory over life’s problems.