Nothing provokes me to impatience faster than having to repeat myself. Whether I’m reminding a co-worker of responsibilities I thought we’d already agreed on, nudging a friend about plans we made just hours ago, or telling my own children for the third time that day to hang up their jackets, I can feel frustration rise in my heart as my lips form the same words yet again.

Several years ago, the Spirit convicted me of my impatience with a little sentence from Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “To write the same things to you is no trouble for me and is safe for you” (3:1b). Surprisingly, Paul didn’t mind repeating himself. In fact, he said it was “no trouble” at all.

As I wrote recently for TGC, when I went looking for Paul’s secret to patient repetition, I found that Paul was simply imitating Christ. Our Lord has been unfailingly patient with us: forgiving our sins, giving his Spirit to us, hearing our prayers, and instructing us in his Word again and again. He does these things as if they were “no trouble” to him because they are safe for us, his beloved.

I don’t know what you’re saying on repeat today—or to whom you’re saying it—but I do know that the Spirit loves to grant the patience of Christ to those who seek him. Go ahead; ask him again.

Megan Hill
Editor

P.S. Be sure to check out registration information for TGC’s women’s ministries cohort. This group is designed to equip and encourage leaders who serve in women’s ministry in the local church.