Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The word fruit, in our scripture, is singular. It is one Fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the qualities that make up the Fruit. There are not nine different fruits—it is a nine-part Fruit. The Fruit is like an orange, and inside the orange, there are numerous slices. So, imagine that each slice of the orange is one of the aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit.
The “fruit” of the Spirit is the expression of our renewed nature as it is seen by others.
Patience
Patience is waiting without complaining. — Robin Meadows
“Patience is a virtue, and a virtue can’t hurt you.”
The Greek word translated patience, makrothumia, is a compound formed by makros (“long”) and thumos (“passion” or “temper”). So patience, as a quality of the Fruit of the Spirit, literally means “long temper,” in the sense of “the ability to hold your temper for a long time.” A patient person is able to endure a lot of pain and suffering without complaining. A patient person is slow to anger as he waits for God to provide comfort and punish wrongdoing.
James 1:19-20 ESV Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
A patient person can take a lot of provocation before reacting. Patience is exhibiting calmness in stressful situations. It’s showing empathy toward others when they are not doing things to our standard. Patient people don’t become easily annoyed, agitated, and they don't show intolerance. Patience is produced when we support the growth in others. It’s not getting upset when a delay occurs that won’t matter in 10 years, let alone 10 days.
God's patience leads us to repentance:
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4 ESV
God's patience saves us from judgment:
Romans 9:22 ESV What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
God's patience completely changes lives:
1 Timothy 1:15-16 ESV The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
God's patience gives us salvation:
2 Peter 3:15 ESV And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
Without God's patience, none of us would live long enough to come to a saving relationship with Jesus. His patience has a purpose; it is to delay judgment so that we can seek Him and escape judgment.
2 Peter 3:9 ESV The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Through the Spirit's power, we can display the same patience to others but,
patience doesn’t come naturally. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit. We can only have patience when the Holy Spirit works through us.