Pants of Patience

If you can put your pants on, then you can put your patience on.

​Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with patience. Colossians 3:12

It's been one of those mornings. You kept hitting the snooze button, and now you're late. Everything in you wants to roll over. You don't want to get up. You don't want to put your pants on.

But, somehow, you find a way to put your pants on (and your shirt, shoes, etc.). Even though you might be half asleep, you still stumble out of the house with your pants on. You weren't feeling like it was a "pants" day. In fact, you would rather be tucked in bed with your PJ's on. But, you still got dressed.

Perhaps you have prayed a long time for God to give you patience. You've "struggled" with impatient attitudes towards people who are not getting with your program. If people weren't so slow to catch on, you wouldn't struggle with impatience (you think!). And then, you ask God one more time to give you the patience to deal with those annoying humans.

In light of your typical "struggles" with impatience, God says, "Struggle no longer. Put your pants on." There is a reason why God gives us the imagery of "clothing ourselves with patience." He means that this something you can do. Even when you don't want start your day, you still find a way to put your pants on. You wouldn't leave home without them.

Then, why would you leave home without your patience on? God's point is that you can "put on" patience, just like you would put your pants on. When you were a toddler, you struggled with putting your own pants on. But now, you would be considered an expert. Why? You do it every day without fail.

So too, you can become an expert in putting your patience on. It is a decision you make to respond with kindness… a choice you make to wait without worrying. You don't have to be controlled by emotions of anxiety or pressure. In an effort to please Jesus, clothe yourself with patience. Practice putting it on.

James 1:19 says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Do this, and you will be practicing putting your patience on. Soon you will find that it's as easy as putting your pants on.

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