Possessed with Patience

Doctor Luke records a remarkable statement by Jesus in his gospel: 

“By your patience possess your souls” (Luke 21:19).

Through these words of Jesus, we understand that patience is an essential principle in establishing a prosperous soul. So many Christians I know do not identify patience as a virtue they possess. Yet patience is one of the fruit of the Spirit each Christian has received in his spirit at the new birth. 

Your very nature is patient, and allowing that patience you possess in your spirit to control your soul will cause your soul to prosper just as your spirit man is prospering. When you allow the patience in your spirit to rule your soul, you will receive a greater portion of the inheritance God has provided. The writer of Hebrews confirms this in the following verse: 

“…that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).

Several years ago my wife and I agreed together in prayer and asked the Lord for a new car for our family. We were desperate for a new car that was free from constant mechanical problems. 

One Sunday, about two months after we had prayed for this new car, a couple in our church asked us out to lunch after a morning service. When we had finished our meal, this couple handed us the keys to a two-year old car and said the Lord told them to give it to us. I was ecstatic and began to vocally praise the Lord in front of everyone in that restaurant for His faithfulness to answer our prayer. 

Along with the keys to the car, they also handed us some paperwork. Once I stopped praising the Lord long enough to look through this paperwork, I noticed it included a payment book. What I didn’t know at the time was this couple had given us a car they were “upside down” in financially. In other words, they owed more on this car than it was worth. I realized it several months later when I tried to sell it. I discovered I now owed $2,000 more on this car than its retail value. I was stuck with it, and it turned out to be a “lemon”. 

The next Sunday after we received this new car with payments, I shared with our church family how the Lord had answered our prayer and given us a new car. I conveniently left out of my testimony that the payment book and payments came with it. One week later in our Sunday morning service, we prayed over a young couple that were members of our church and were moving to New York. 

They asked if they could say a few words to the church before they left. They shared how much they appreciated Janice and me as their pastors and the love and encouragement they had received from the church. Just before handing the microphone back to me the husband said he was a bit confused by something though. He said he was sure the Lord had spoken to him and his wife about giving Janice and me one of their cars. It was a newer and larger car than the one we had received with the payments included. And the car they planned to give us was paid for! He went on to say when he heard us testify the week before about the car we received, he and his wife determined they must have missed God. So they gave the car to his wife’s sister instead. After hearing all of this, I smiled on the outside, but I was crying on the inside. 

I learned an important lesson that day. Patience is not something to be despised. Rather, it is a virtue to embrace. Failure to yield to patience in your soul can cause you to miss out on some aspect of your inheritance. Because I failed to wait on God, I missed my inheritance of a paid-for, newer car by two weeks. I was only two weeks away from God’s best for my family and me! 

Let me ask you to say this with me:

I am patient. Patience possesses my soul and therefore, my soul is prosperous. By faith and patience I inherit all God has for me. 

There are two primary areas in our lives where it is essential that we exercise patience. First is the “in between time.” This is the time between the prayers we pray and receiving the answers to our prayers.

What I have learned from the car scenario and other experiences in my prayer journey is that tagging time frames on the end of our prayers is a recipe for failure. We do not receive from God by focusing on the calendar or the clock, but by keeping our focus on the Lord and His Word. The Bible tells us to add to our faith, patience (2 Peter 1:5-6). 

One of the best examples to explain faith and patience working together is in fishing. Have you ever been deep-sea fishing or trophy fishing? When you hook a big fish like this, you do not pull it immediately in the boat. You have to let it run and then reel it in, and then let it run and reel it in some more. Depending upon the size of the fish it may take from 20 minutes to an hour to bring the fish in the boat. 

Faith is a lot like fishing. When God puts something in your heart to believe and ask Him for, it is like setting the hook in the fish’s mouth. You know you have it on the line, but many times you cannot see it because it is under the surface of the water. You don’t want to get in a big rush to yank the fish in the boat because you could lose it.

The bigger the dream and vision God has given you, sometimes the harder and longer the fight will be. But if you refuse to give up by adding patience to your faith, you will reel in that dream, vision, or desire from the spirit realm into the natural realm. The following verse sums it up: 

“But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” (2 Peter 1:4).

The second area where it is essential to exercise patience is in dealing with challenging circumstances and difficult people. The context of Jesus’ instruction to “let patience possess your souls” in Luke 21:19 is during times of tremendous tribulation. Jesus is telling us here that even in times of great trouble and persecution we are to let patience possess our souls. He is teaching us that the way to get through adversity, accusations, and emotional instability is to let the patience we already have in our spirits rule in our souls as well. 

In difficult times of financial, physical, or relational crisis, “when the rubber meets the road” so to speak, you discover how prosperous your soul really is. You have a choice each time you are squeezed by people, circumstances, or financial pressure to manifest fruit or flesh. You can “blow a gasket” and let anger, frustration, and impatience have its way. Or you can choose to allow patience, which is the fruit of the Spirit and the nature of Jesus in your spirit man, to manifest instead. 

God is love (I John 4:8) and love is first patient according to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Therefore, God is patient. And since you have His nature in your born-again spirit man, you, too, are patient. But this does not become a reality in your soul automatically when you are born again. It is your choice to partake of the divine nature in your spirit by responding to the Holy Spirit instead of reacting emotionally.

Pressure is a bad sign. Don’t follow everything your un-renewed mind and emotions want to do. It is better to wait on the witness of the Spirit to guide you. The soul who has learned to wait until God speaks to move, even in the midst of pressure from people, circumstances, and time constraints will prosper! 

“Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child” (Psalm 131:2).

A weaned soul is a patient and prosperous soul. The word weaned in the Hebrew means “to deal bountifully; to ripen; to yield fruit; to mature.” It has to do with the process of maturing. Until we have learned to calm and quiet our soul, it is not possible to mature and yield the full potential of fruit ordained in our life. 

Adults who act like big babies in attempt to get their way are simply verifying their immaturity and lack of trust. When I stopped crying and screaming every time I got in a mess and started looking to God and trusting Him, I began to mature and prosper.

Some good Christians never grow to their full potential because they fail to take responsibility to control their soul. They stunt their own spiritual growth and kingdom potential by holding on to the right to say and do what they want, when they want, and to whomever they want.

One of the best examples to learn from in the area of patience is directly from Jesus. He had just learned John the Baptist had been beheaded by King Herod. When Jesus received news of this horrific act against His beloved friend, He did something we can all learn from: He took time apart to pray. 

Jesus could have reacted in the flesh and leveraged His influence with the multitudes that followed Him to get revenge against Herod and justice for His martyred friend. Jesus had emotions and feelings just like us, yet He gave time for the patience in His spirit to possess His soul.

He was then able to move out in the Spirit with wisdom instead of reacting in the flesh. From that time of prayer Jesus was moved with compassion and He went out and healed the multitudes. Herod and the devil took out one, but Jesus took many out of satan’s kingdom that day because He chose to be led by the Spirit instead of His emotions. 

You and I can do the very same thing. In every situation we have a choice. We can react and take the situation into our own hands, or we can pause, pray, and commit it to the Father.

The Bible says it is through faith and patience we inherit the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). This truth makes patience a very important aspect of our true nature. When you make patience your friend and determine to let it possess your soul, you are in position to inherit the things God has prepared for you. A patient soul is a prosperous soul! 

Adapted from Greg Mohr’s Book, A Prosperous Soul