Read
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12
Reflect
You’ve been sitting just behind the first car at a traffic light for the past two minutes. The light finally turns green, but the driver is on a cell phone and doesn’t notice. Worse yet, by the time that driver finally moves, you aren’t able to make the light. Now you’re stuck again.
How do you react?
At work, your boss yet again makes a request — no, a demand — that requires an impossible turnaround. It is the third time this has happened this week.
What is your response?
At home, you had hoped for a quiet evening, but the children are going at each other, your spouse is running late and dinner just caught on fire.
What is your attitude?
Patience is not easy, especially in the face of difficult circumstances. Scripture treats patience as essential to Christian maturity. Paul lists it as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, and 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that true love begins with patience.
Each of us will have our patience tried again and again through daily situations and aggravations. Those trials reveal whether we can endure the stress of life without going under.
Patient people are not those who never feel pressure. They are those who can endure what happens to them without being ruled by extreme reactions. They may feel frustration, exhaustion or stress, but they do not have to be controlled by those feelings.
The only way to live with that kind of patient endurance is through the stability of the Lord Jesus, who gives understanding, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the strength we need in times of stress.
Romans 12:12 gives us the rhythm: rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and be constant in prayer. Hope keeps our eyes on God’s promises. Prayer keeps us close to His presence. Patience teaches us to endure the space between.
The closer we draw to the Lord, the more He forms His qualities in us. In His joy, we can walk in patient endurance and receive the blessings He has set aside for those who trust Him.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
