In a world with so much to worry and be anxious about, where chaos and division are rampant, I find myself deeply desiring and seeking peace of mind. Thankfully, I have a relationship with Jesus, who gives me supernatural peace. Thank you, Lord!

But of course, the enemy loves to sneak into our lives and steal our peace when possible. So what are some ways that we can guard our peace of mind and promote a peaceful existence? One way I’ve found is through being patient!

But what do patience and peace have to do with each other? Let’s dive into three biblically-based reasons why having patience is having peace of mind.

1. Impatience Leads to Hurry

We all know what it feels like to be in a hurry. Personally, rushing around makes me feel scatterbrained and disconnected. When I’m in a hurry, there’s no time to live in the moment, and there’s rarely grace to give to those around me.

When I ask myself, “What leads to hurrying?” I think of impatience. Think about it, when we’re impatient, we want things to move faster. So we pick up our pace to try and move along the parts we can control, leading to hurry. As a result, we’re inclined to make hasty decisions without reflecting on the consequences, only to discover later that an ill-advised choice has been made.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of one instance when I was impatient and chose to hurry that led me to feel at peace in my mind. But when I slow down and exercise patience, it’s usually always accompanied by peace.

Whether I’m being patient with God on the timing of my circumstances or with others in the check-out line at the grocery store, I can take a moment to hear my thoughts, be grateful for where I am, and experience peace.

“Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Proverbs 19:2

2. Patience Controls Anger and Selfishness

We’ve all been there where we lost our cool with someone because they weren’t cooperating as we thought they should. Or we put ourselves at the center of a situation, neglecting the needs of others and creating a rift in a relationship. The truth is that we could have prevented most of these situations if we had chosen to exercise some patience with the people in our lives.

Being patient forces us to slow down and think about others around us. When we allow ourselves to take a little time and thoroughly evaluate a situation, including the other people involved, we’ll see with clarity that everything isn’t only about ourselves; the needs of others require our consideration as well.

Also, patience allows us to carefully consider our actions and words when interacting with others, leading to more loving and thoughtful relationships with significantly fewer arguments, snippy comments, and anger-filled reactions.

The bottom line is that being patient compels us to realize that we can’t always have what we want right now, and situations never involve only us. When we choose patience, we choose to extend grace and love toward others and ourselves, leading to peace of mind and harmony in our relationships.

“Hot tempers cause arguments, but patience brings peace.” Proverbs 15:18

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3. Patience and Peace are Both a Part of the Fruit of the Spirit

As believers in Christ Jesus, we have been blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Spirit to infiltrate the depths of our hearts and yield to his leading, we naturally begin to display the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

An interesting point about these two verses is that though many traits are listed, the “fruit” of the Spirit is in the singular form, not the plural. This singular use of the word means that these traits are not separate from one another but comprise one collective fruit that all believers can possess and exert. Unlike the spiritual gifts of healing, teaching, and acts of service, which may differ from one believer to another, each child of God can express “all” the fruit's various traits when relying entirely on the Spirit’s empowerment.

So how does this show that patience leads to peace? Well, patience and peace are both a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Given that our new way of life as followers of Christ is supernatural, everything we do stems not from our strength but from the powerful work of the Spirit in our lives. And so, as Christians, we cannot have one trait without the other, as they go hand-in-hand!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

After reviewing the connections between patience and peace of mind, I believe God prefers us to live in a default state of calm, contentment, and forbearance rather than the alternative. And I do too! What about you?