Patience: The Benefits of Waiting
'Lord, I want patience, and I want it right now!' It is easier to joke about patience than to become patient. You can tell that God is growing patience in you when you run into frustrating experiences; when others fail to meet your expectations; when people you depend on let you down. Most of all, you know you are learning patience when you call out to the Lord for help and he seems to be on vacation. In the face of such trials, the Bible tells us that patience is worth the wait. This Fruit...
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This best-selling and award-winning Bible study series has been completely updated and revised for the new millennium. This volume helps readers discover the benefits of being patient when they run into frustrating experiences, when others fail to meet their expectations, and when people they depend on let them down. 6 SESSIONS.
Patience\ The Benefits of Waiting \ \ By Stephen Eyre \ Zondervan\ Copyright © 2001 Zondervan\ All right reserved.\ ISBN: 0-310-23868-4 \ \ \ Chapter One\ THE BENEFITS OF PATIENCE \ Proverbs\ Stop it!"\ "No!"\ "You are going to break Dad's computer!"\ "Its my turn!"\ The game of computer Monopoly comes to an abrupt halt. My youngest son stomps out of the study and runs upstairs to his room. My two older sons walk away, exasperated. So much for a quiet Sunday afternoon.\ With a little more patience the game could have gone on. But the boys were tired, and it was a hot afternoon. Patience on such days is not in great supply.\ For most of us, more is at stake during frustrating times than a children's game. Yet it is in the trying times, when we seem least inclined to be patient, that we need it the most. We can be encouraged to grow in patience if we look at its benefits in the book of Proverbs.\ Warming Up\ 1. Take a patience inventory. At what times and in what circumstances do you tend to be impatient?\ Digging In\ 2. Read the five proverbs listed on page 10. How would you summarize the qualities of a patient person?\ 3. What contrasts are drawn between a patient and impatient person?\ 4. Look at Proverbs 15:18. How does patience/impatience affect our relationships with others?\ How have you seen patience/impatience affect relationships in your life?\ 5. Read Proverbs 16:32. Why do you think a patient person is better than a warrior or one who takes a city?\ 6. How could patience be a great asset in your (choose one) workplace, classroom, home?\ 7. Read Proverbs 14:29 and 19:11. How does patience-or the lack of it-reveal whether a person is wise or foolish?\ 8. Think of a person you know who is very patient. In what other ways does that person seem wise?\ 9. Look at Proverbs 15:18 and 25:15. How does patience or impatience affect the impact of our speech?\ (Continues...)\ \ \ \ \ Excerpted from Patience by Stephen Eyre Copyright © 2001 by Zondervan. Excerpted by permission.\ All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.\ Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. \ \
