Can you imagine what a world we would have if all our leaders had the trait called 'patience'? What is patience? Patience is the good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence. To be patient is to be steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity. A patient person bears pains and trials without complaint.

Three Things a Leader Should Know about Patience

1. Patience is the personal trait that will cause a leader to bear fruit. To be productive, you need to be patient for things to grow until the day of harvest. Patience is a very important trait for productivity and prosperity. Because of a lack of patience, people jump out of a good thing thinking they can get to the top faster. 'But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and BRING FORTH FRUIT WITH PATIENCE.' (Luke 8:15)

2. Patience is the personal trait that makes a leader to inherit good things. 'Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.' These are the words of the psalmist. 'Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way for evil doers shall be cut off but those that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.' Are you a leader with the desire to inherit good things? You will inherit good things through patience. 'That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who THROUGH faith and PATIENCE INHERIT the promises.' (Hebrews 6:12)

3. Patience is the personal trait that will cause a leader to be approved. You will be approved because you were able to wait for your day of promotion. The ability to wait faithfully is always rewarded with promotion. Pastors of big churches are all people who have stayed in one place for many years. Owners of big companies have waited for many years. Wait patiently and you will become a leader who can be described as successful. 'But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses…' (2 Corinthians 6:4)

The Golden Eggs One day a farmer's hen suddenly began laying golden eggs. One morning, upon going to the nest of his chickens, he found a glittering yellow and glowing egg. When he took it up, it was as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away because he thought a trick had been played on him. But he took it home on second thought. He soon found to his delight that it was a pure golden egg.

Every morning the same thing occurred and he soon became rich by selling his golden eggs. As he grew rich he began to calculate how much money he would have at the end of the year when his hen would have laid over three hundred eggs. He thought to himself, 'I can't wait for this hen to lay an egg a day. It is too slow for me. If I could get all the eggs out of its stomach at a go, I would be very rich and could invest now in buildings and other businesses.' He thought to himself, 'I would no longer need to be a farmer; I could go into business.'

Then he had a brainwave and said to himself, 'If I cut open the hen's stomach I could take out all the three hundred eggs and become a millionaire immediately. I will no longer have to prosper in bits and pieces as I am doing now.' The next day he cut open the hen and to his amazement there were no eggs. His impatience cost him his fortune. He could not wait for the golden eggs to be laid every day. He had to have it now! This is the power of impatience. It is the power that destroys your own fruits and your own rewards. The power of impatience contains the power of self destruction. May we continue to pray for our leaders that they will have this trait - patience.

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