The Fruit of the Spirit...Patience?

 As I was being tested, patience was required, and I was waiting with much complaining.  Then my wife encouraged me to read the Fruit of the Spirit out of the Amplified version of the Bible.  So, I did and here it is:

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is

love [unselfish concern for others],

 joy [inner] peace,

patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting],

 kindness,

goodness,

 faithfulness,

 gentleness,

 self-control.

  Against such things there is no law.”

(Galatians 5:22-23)

These verses not only apply to us as we go through our daily life but especially as we wait for the Lord’s return.  How we act while we wait for him does matter and it is very important.  We learn as we go through trials.  For a lot of people, the word “patience” is not welcome in their vocabulary, and I can tell by my own life I am not the only one who finds it difficult to act well while we wait.  We can all wait as this version of the Bible explain it.  But patience takes it to a different level which is what are our actions while we wait.

Like it says in Matthew 24:48-51 (Jesus talking) “But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.” (NIV)

This was referring to before Jesus’s return.

I think for God everything counts and how we handle ourselves during trials matters in preparation for his return.