Patience - Biblical Character Curriculum

PATIENCE

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Patience in Scripture The Character of God

3. Wait for the right time to speak. An appropriate word at a fitting moment brings great joy to the hearer. “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!" (Proverbs 15:23). A patient person waits and discerns the right time to speak. (See Proverbs 29:11.) Interrupting is not being patient. For example, if your Mom is in a conversation or on the phone, gently place your hand on her arm and respectfully wait until she can give you her full attention. We honor others when we wait for the right time to speak.

• God is patient (longsuffering).

(See Psalm 86:15.)

• God patiently waits for people to turn to Him. (See II Peter 3:9b.)

• Jesus waited for the right time to go to the Feast of Tabernacles. (See John 7:8–9.)

• Patience in our lives is the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22.)

4. Cheerfully make the most of “wait time.”

When we have a situation where we must wait, we ought to look for ways to use the time wisely. (See Colossians 4:5.) We could read a book or article, work on Scripture memory or our planning, or simply pray. Is there someone around us whom we could bless with a smile or kind word? Often God gives us opportunities to start meaningful conversations or share the Gospel during unexpected delays. Instead of anxiously thinking about the long wait, let’s keep our minds on the Lord. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Key Concepts 1. When evil seems to prevail, rest in the Lord. God is in control. He knows when to give the wicked time to repent and when to stop the evil that grieves His heart. At the same time, He deepens the life message of the righteous. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. . . . For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:7, 9). When we are in the midst of difficult times, we can patiently wait on the Lord because He is in control.

Patience in My Life

2. Accept the things we cannot change.

When we don’t get our way, we often become frustrated. We may not be able to change the situation, but we are better able to accept it when we realize that God uses even delays, interruptions, or disruptions for a special purpose. We will be more patient when we see His eternal perspective. Paul writes that as we keep God’s glory as the goal, we will not faint, we will be renewed day by day, and we will see trials as “light affliction, which is but for a moment.” (See II Corinthians 4:15-18, I Peter 2:20.)

• Ephesians 4:1–2—Am I longsuffering (patient) with my family, with other Christians, and with unbelievers?

• Colossians 1:10–11—Do those who know me well sense an irritated, impatient, anxious spirit or a joyful, restful spirit in me?

• James 1:2–4—Have I ever rushed before receiving God’s direction or lagged behind in obeying His leading? What is God’s way of developing patience in us?

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• Psalm 40:1—Do I wait patiently for God to answer my prayer in His time?

PATIENCE Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Patience

in the Life of the Lame Man Read John 5:1–9 as a family and answer the following questions:

1. W hat did the people gathered around the pool of Bethesda have in common and for what were they waiting? “Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water” (John 5:2–3).

Can you think of a situation in which you had to wait for something or someone? Was it difficult to wait?

4. Did Jesus know how long the man had been waiting to get into the water? Why do you think Jesus asked the man this question? “When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). Does Jesus know what you are waiting for and how long you have been waiting?

2. What would happen at the “moving of the water”? “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had” (John 5:4). What exciting events are you anticipating? How does having hope help us while we wait?

6. What did Jesus say to the lame man?

Do you think this is the way the man thought he would be healed? “Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked . . .” (John 5:8–9). As you wait, are you listening for the Lord to speak? Does God’s answer sometimes come in a different way or timing than you expect?

3. One man at the pool of Bethesda had been waiting a long time. How long had he been waiting? “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years” (John 5:5). Does waiting a long time ever tempt you to give up or lose hope?

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5. Along with having to wait, this man also needed assistance from others. Would anyone help him? “The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me” (John 5:7). Do you notice others who are waiting and offer assistance or let them go ahead of you?

PATIENCE

A Lame Man Patiently Waits “And a certain man was there [pool of Bethesda], which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.”

—JOHN 5:3, 5 3

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Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

PATIENCE

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Memory Verse ROMANS 5:3–4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope. . . .”

Memory Verse Game: Disappearing Letters Write the verse on the board. Have the children read the verse aloud together several times.

Select someone to erase all but the first letter in any three words on the whiteboard. Have everyone read the verse together again. When you get to the words represented by only the first letter, see if the children can remember what those words are and say them. Choose another child to erase three more words, leaving only the initials. Repeat this pattern until only the initials remain and the children can recite the verse from memory.

Discuss what it means to glory in tribulations. Ask God how He wants you to apply the verse, i.e., "thank God when a difficult situation arises"; "wait patiently to speak"; "smile instead of complain when I face a delay." Then fill in the blank with His answer: “Dear Lord, I yield to You and am willing to apply this verse by _____________________________________ _____________________________________. I ask that You would develop patience in my life. Amen.”

When the Lord gives you an opportunity to apply this verse, discuss it as a family and write it down in your personal journal to later recall God’s working in your life.

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Doers of the Word

PATIENCE

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Craft Instructions Take-A-Walk Butterflies Introduction Read to the children: “This month we are asking the Lord to develop patience in our lives. What a privilege to respond to the work He is doing to change us into the image of His Son! Can you think of different things God created that illustrate patience? When we plant seeds, we have to wait for them to grow. We wait for seasons to change. Tadpoles wait to become frogs and caterpillars wait to become butterflies. Today we are going to take a walk in God’s beautiful creation and gather supplies to make butterflies as reminders to us to be patient. As we grow in our walk with the Lord, He will develop patience in our lives.”

Supplies Cardstock and tape or glue On your walk, gather items such as these: leaves, twigs, a few blades of grass, clover, flowers.

Take a walk and gather items from nature that can be assembled to form the shape of a butterfly. Afterward, assist the children as they tape or glue their materials in the shape of a butterfly on a piece of folded construction paper. Read to the children: “After a long wait as a caterpillar and then struggling to emerge from its chrysalis, the delicate creature finally finishes its life course as a beautiful butterfly—the monarch of the summer sky!

The caterpillar must wait to become the beautiful butterfly that God intended it to be. We, too, will go through times of waiting and struggles, to accomplish God’s beautiful purposes for our lives.”

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Instructions

PATIENCE

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Activity Page Hot Chocolate Serve the children a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider that is too hot to drink. “We are going to practice patience as we wait for the hot chocolate to be cool enough to drink.” While waiting, discuss the following points: •

What are we waiting for and looking forward to?

•

Are we waiting with a good attitude?

•

How can we encourage the others who are waiting?

•

How can we use this waiting time productively?

•

Who could we pray for?

•

Can anyone quote the memory verse?

•

Who can share a way that he or she has had to apply the memory verse?

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When the hot chocolate has cooled, everyone can enjoy the results of their patience. Award an extra marshmallow to the children who waited with a good attitude or used the wait time wisely. Notice how waiting increases our appreciation.

HYMN HISTORY

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

“Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting” Pungent incense, aromatic spices, endless rice paddies, and men wearing long braided pigtails: this was China in the late 1800’s. What an exotic, challenging place! It was a dangerous place, too, for the white missionaries bringing the Gospel to this unreached country.

It was during this dangerous time that Hudson Taylor was sitting in his small office in the mission station at Chinkiang when he received a letter with dire news. Two of the older mission stations in the region were being threatened with imminent, serious rioting!

One of Hudson Taylor's co-laborers, a young man named George Nicholl, had been sitting in Taylor’s office when the alarming reports arrived. “Mr. Taylor probably wants to be alone to think about this terrible news,” George thought, and he stepped toward the door to leave. Suddenly, while in mid-stride, he heard something which caused him to spin about in surprise.

Hudson Taylor was softly whistling! Nicholl’s ears heard the melody floating in the air and mentally his shocked mind filled in the words, “Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art . . . .”

Astonished, George looked at the elder missionary statesman and asked with incredulity, “How can you whistle, when our friends are in so much danger?”

Hudson Taylor looked up, his eyes steady and sincere. “Would you have me anxious and troubled?” he asked. “That would not help them, and would certainly incapacitate me for my work. I just have to roll the burden onto the Lord.”

James Hudson Taylor (1860–1919)

Patience is “accepting a difficult situation from the Lord without giving Him a deadline to remove it.” As we learn to “cast all our cares upon Him, for He careth for you” (I Peter 5:7), then we will discover a discipline—as Hudson Taylor knew and wisely practiced himself— that will make it difficult for us to get impatient or fretful!

Hudson Taylor had not always been patient or worry-free. He founded the China Inland Mission in 1865. Four-and-a-half years later, Taylor was so overwhelmed by work, impatience, worry, and responsibility that he nearly had a nervous breakdown. In the fall of 1869, he received a letter from friend and fellow-missionary, John McCarthy. McCarthy wrote, “Abiding [in Christ], not striving or struggling, looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power . . . . This is not new, yet 'tis new to me . . . . Christ literally all seems to me now the power, the only power for service; the only ground for unchanging joy.”

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That specific practice was one of Hudson Taylor's “spiritual secrets.” Those who worked alongside Taylor in China often would see him sitting at a little reed organ or hear him in the wee morning hours playing the soft strains of his favorite hymn, “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting.” The man had learned the secret of “resting” and, whatever happened, he knew “resting” was rolling the cares on to Jesus' shoulders, entrusting them to Him.

HYMN HISTORY

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His friend’s words struck a chord in Taylor’s heart. To his sister in England, Taylor expounded in a letter: “As to work mine was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone. The last month or more has been perhaps the happiest of my life . . . . When the agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes . . .

[He] wrote: ‘But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith but by resting in the Faithful One.’ As I read, I saw all! . . . As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured into my soul!”

Hudson Taylor’s friend, John McCarthy, made an important point. We can't become patient merely by clenching our teeth and trying to be patient. To experience patience, we have to give our rights and our expectations to God, releasing them totally, and then we can rest in His goodness and love. Patience comes as we realize God is in control and He does all things well and at the perfect time.

Little is known about the author of this favorite hymn of Hudson Taylor’s. She was an Irish woman named Jean Pigott who passed away in her late thirties. Perhaps this song will become one of your favorite hymns as you grow, learning to rest in Jesus and to wait patiently on Him and His perfect timing!

Bibliography: Morgan, Robert J. On This Day In Christian History, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN, 1997, p. June 27.

Morgan, Robert J. Then Sings My Soul, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2003, p. 199.

Taylor, Howard and Geraldine. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, rev. ed., OMF International, Littleton, CO, 2010, pp. 156–157.

This hymn and the other 11 featured hymns of this year’s character curriculum are available on CD. The hymns are sung by home educating families to piano accompaniment. Go to store.iblp.org/product/CBCH2.html for more information.

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Ever lift Thy face upon me As I work and wait for Thee; Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, Earth's dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father's glory, Sunshine of my Father's face, Keep me ever trusting, resting, Fill me with Thy grace.

PATIENCE

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting James Mountain (1843–1933)

Jean S. Pigott (1845–1882)

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      

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find - ing out mar - vel - ous love, so pure, 'neath Thy smile,

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the great - ness Of Thy Thy good - ness Lav - ished so change - less, Sat - is Lord Je - sus, Earth's dark

 

               

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         

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

Thou art; the sea!

Thou art, for Thee;

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Thou hast bid me gaze up - on Thee, Yes, I rest in Thee, Be - lov - ed, Sat - is - fies its deep - est long-ings, Bright-ness of my Fa - ther's glo - ry,



what than as wait

For,

by Thy trans - form - ing Know Thy cer - tain - ty of Com - pass - eth me round with Keep me ev - er trust - ing,

heart. me! heart; flee.

 

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          

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And Thy beau - ty fills my Know what wealth of grace is Meets, sup - plies its ev - ery Sun - shine of my Fa - ther's

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pow - er, prom - ise, bless - ings, rest - ing,

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9 ©

lov - ing all on fies my shad -ows

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    

Thou hast made me And have made it Thine is love in Fill me with Thy

soul; Thine, need, face,

whole. mine. deed! grace.

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PATIENCE HYMN



Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting



     

           Je - sus, I

am

                    I

am find - ing

         

rest - ing, rest - ing

      

In

        

            

out

the great - ness

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the joy of



  



  

what Thou art;

   

Of Thy lov - ing

     



heart.



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