How can a Christian practice patience when God has you waiting?

Patience is a one the common words to everyone be it Christians or nonChristians. It always comes out whenever someone is going through hard time which requires him or her to wait on something, but do people know what patience and waiting means?

How can one practice patience in such a hard situation? Do people have patience? How can one be patient while waiting for something? To get answers these questions Esther Namutamba reached out to some people who tried to answer the questions.

Before going into the details of how can a Christian practice patience when God has you waiting, we need to understand the meaning of patience and whether people know what patience is?

According to the dictionary, patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious complaining.

But do people know this?

Sarah Nelima, a resident of Kamwokya, said she understands patience as a state of persevering in case things take time or get delayed without negatively reacting or becoming sad .

Nelima said she almost gave up on her marriage when things were not going well but she persevered.

"My husband told me to leave our home and leave my daughter behind. We are separated but still married. He refuses to get divorce and refuses to tell me if he still loves me. Obviously, he is sleeping with other women now. I found out he was cheating on me with not one but many women and when I confronted him about it he told me to leave our home. I cried day and night as I was left homeless and jobless, but God being the faithful, I got a good job and an amazing place to stay," she said.

Jonathan Kiiza, who stays in Munyonyo said having patience means you can remain calm, even when you’ve been waiting forever or when you are trying to teach someone how to do something and they just don’t get it.

He said patience involves acceptance and tolerance, and is usually easier to have when there’s something in it for you at the end. That could be a goal you’ve been slowly working on to achieve, or just lower blood pressure.

Thomas Mugisa, also fromMunyonyo said that, he been patiently waiting 25 years for God to fulfil a personal promise. But his faith has been slowly but surely declining and he often found himself doubting God's goodness.

"Why are God's ways so hard? Why does He keep me in such a painful limbo for so many years? I am convinced my life will never get any better, that this painful existence is all I will ever know. I have come to the end of the road and I have nothing left but despair. God's ways are too hard," Mugisha said.

Esther Nakazibwe, a member of the Church of God in Kamwokya said some days it is a lot hard to be patient.

"One can have patience when they listen to advice given to them by their elders and thoroughly reading the word of God," said Esther Nakazibwe.

Therefore a Christian can practice patience while God has her or him wait by practicing what the bible teaches and asking the spirit of Lord God to give them grace to wait upon his timing because god is not man to lie and He makes sure he fulfils his promises.

In Numbers 23:19 it is written: "God is not human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?”