Called to Bring Hope & The Spiritual Fruit of Patience – Purity 1939
Purity 1939 04/16/2026 Purity 1939 Audio Podcast
Purity 1939 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo is of my canine pal, Harley, with his nose to the ground as the sun shines bright over the clear expanse of Waite Road, as the grass and farmlands display the hopeful green of spring that comes to us from yours truly.
Well, it’s Thursday, and I share today’s crisp and clear pathway photo as a visual reminder to keep our paths straight by getting on or staying on the path of Christian Discipleship, because I know all too well the possible negative consequences of straying from God’s way.
Until I was saved by a gospel radio message in 2010 at the relatively ripe old age of 38, I lived the double life of an addict and what appeared to be a responsible family man, where I worked and cared for my children by day, and slunk off to the shadows of substance abuse and sexual sin by night. The tensions of life and my poor view of myself caused me to find comfort in the ways of the flesh that only lead to pain, guilt, and shame. But the Lord changed all that since 2010, as He called me out of the darkness of both my spiritual ignorance and my sin. God brought me to life with Christ when I put my faith in Jesus and drew me to seek to apply His truth and righteousness to my life. God called me to learn about Him and invited me to try His way of living, and the more I learned and adopted His wisdom, the more freedom, peace, and joy I have come to know.
But when the Lord sets you free in the way He set me free, you quickly discover that the purpose of your new life is to share the message of freedom in Christ and pass along the hope that you have to others. While God has a plan for each of us, we are all to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of the places I do that on a regular basis is the Celebrate Freedom Support Group at Starpoint Church, where I feel God has called me to bring hope to those who desperately need it.
Last night I was privileged to minister at Celebrate once again, but this week some of our participants were going through some deep struggles that caused them to consider suicide. In the midst of our normal “check-in”, we were all taken by surprise to discover a couple of our members had personal failings and moments of depression that caused them to want to take their lives. As much as we were affected to hear of their pain and to see their tears, we were grateful that, despite it, the Lord was with them in their pain and caused them to seek help instead of taking the enemy’s invitation to end their lives.
I have overcome suicidal thoughts in my life. I understand depression and the desire for a quick final solution to mental anguish, so after we prayed for the Lord to comfort, heal, and protect our friends in the days ahead, and to guide them into His ways of peace and patience, I shared my testimony. When we know the Lord and trust Him to help us, we can have peace even in the darkest times and the strength to patiently endure the trials that we have to walk through.
Speaking of patience, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today speaks about that fruit of the Spirit, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us all to choose God’s ways that lead us to a life of peace.
“The Spiritual Fruit of Patience
As our confidence in God grows, so does our capacity to wait for His answers and accept His will.
Colossians 3:12-13
The “fruit of the Spirit” includes patience (Galatians 5:22-23), but that doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit will force it into the believer’s life. Instead, He acts as our ever-dependable teacher and the one who enables our growth. Spiritual fruit matures over time as we obey the Lord and surrender to His will. Patience involves waiting for God’s timing, whether in regard to things we desire or challenges caused by other people. Either way, it’s an outgrowth of deepening faith.
The Holy Spirit urges believers to take note of the Lord’s handiwork on the journey through life. Our confidence in Him is nurtured by answered prayer, the rich blessings that arise unexpectedly from difficult circumstances, and every trace of good that God brings from a bad situation. As our trust in His goodness and sovereignty grows, we are willing to wait for God’s solutions and outcomes.
In fact, recognizing God’s sovereignty is key to developing patience. A significant part of surrendering to His control is waiting upon Him to do what He will.
Patience doesn’t come naturally. The Holy Spirit strengthens our resolve to endure without complaint. After all, God is slow only from a human standpoint. From a divine, eternal perspective, He’s always working at the perfect speed.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. Some hard but encouraging truths are here.
God is not going to force you to be patient. While various trials will periodically give us the opportunity to grow in patience, how we choose to go through our trials is still a matter of choice.
In my past, I had all kinds of not-so-helpful responses to hard times, like:
- Anger – I’m not sure if anger is the polar opposite of patience, but I know that when I become impatient with people or situations, anger is right there, inviting me to lash out to voice my frustrations, assign blame, demand my rights, or complain.
- Drunkenness / Denial/ Escape /Lust- when you find yourself in a situation that you become impatient or frustrated with, the enemy also invites us to “forget about it” and offers us sinful pleasures to take our minds off our problems. These responses may give us pleasure in the moment, but they result in pain, guilt, shame, and bondage. They also make us LESS equipped to deal with difficult situations and make us LESS patient.
- Fear – Anxiety – Worry – Condemnation – Depression: during difficult times, the enemy also will invite us to hyper fixate on our problems but will also condemn us as inadequate- so we will cycle in fear over what will happen, but keep us locked in inaction, and draw us into depression as our wisdom is stolen and we see wrongly see our situations as hopeless.
So, there are a bunch of alternatives to being patient. We must choose to be patient.
However, without God, trying to be patient doesn’t really work that well.
Granted, in ourselves, we can learn to endure pain and suffering and perseverance. But if we do that by ourselves, we become prideful and separate ourselves from the other fruits of the Spirit.
Man-made patience lacks peace, joy, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and love.
When we, however, learn patience with the Lord, we find comfort and true hope because God is good and He is in control, and when we recognize that, we can go beyond “this too shall pass” and be assured that God is moving all things together for our good.
When we draw into the presence of the Lord, patience is easier to develop because He gives us the peace that goes beyond all understanding, and we can rest in the assurance that God is going to help us.
So, choose to trust in the Lord and let the fruit of patience grow in your life.
*************************************
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Support MT 4 Christ Community Freedom Ministry!
To Give via PayPal Go to the MT4Christ Donations Page
Or Give Via Venmo or the Cash App by scanning the QR Code below:
Leave a Reply