Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and it is part of how Christians are called to live. The fruits of the Spirit show us who God wants us to become. Many of them are also the visible side of our faith, the part other people notice in how we act. Patience matters because it lets us wait with hope instead of anxiety.

Most of us know what it is to wait for something we really need. We wait to hear back after a job interview. We wait for a paycheck even when we know exactly which day it will arrive. We wait for a diagnosis after medical tests, and those days can feel like the longest of all. Waiting comes in many forms, and every one of them asks us to be patient. When the need in front of us is pressing, even a short wait can feel long, and impatience creeps in.

Our walk with God takes a great deal of patience too. We lift up our prayers. Sometimes the answer comes quickly, and sometimes nothing seems to happen at all. So, what are we doing while we wait? Are we still trusting the One who knows everything and holds everything in His hands? That waiting is where our patience is tested.

The world can feel like it is turning upside down. So much is happening at once. Our children face pressures and make choices we never imagined. We see people suffering every day, and we keep helping. We see injustice and pray for justice. Still, things often don’t move the way or as fast as we hoped.

In times like these, patience isn’t passive. It is faith that keeps praying, keeps serving and keeps trusting while the answer is still on its way.

During election season, patience should be a priority for us. We are called to see one another first as human beings, made in God’s image, and to treat everyone with dignity and respect, including people who disagree with us. We see the predictions and all that is happening right now and this brings uncertainty, we go on social media to see how people are responding to everything.

It’s easy to get worn out or frustrated by what others say about the candidates we support. But these moments are a test of our character. How we speak, listen and respond shows whether the Spirit’s fruit is really growing in us.

Scripture reminds us of the purpose behind our waiting:

“But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” (James 1:4, KJV).

Patience isn’t wasted time. God uses it to shape us and make us complete and mature. So whether we are waiting on an answer to prayer, on change in our communities, or on peace in our nation, let us wait well: trusting God, honoring one another, and letting patience finish its work in us.