# Bible verses about patience in the process > Bible verses about patience from the World English Bible: waiting for the LORD, the farmer, seed that grows by itself, and a good work he will finish. Canonical: https://lucernel.com/guides/bible-verses/patience Last updated: 2026-11-06 Change happens more slowly than anyone wants, and the weeks between a decision and a new life can be the hardest part. The Bible has a lot to say to people who are waiting. These verses come from the World English Bible. Pray the short prayer at the end. **Psalm 27:14 is the verse for waiting well.** Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD. David says it twice. The waiting is paired with strength and courage, so it is a steady, active waiting and not a passive delay. (Psalm 27:14) ## Wait for the LORD Psalm 27:14 closes a psalm of confidence in a time of danger, and it repeats its command: wait for the LORD. Psalm 37:7 says to rest in the LORD and wait patiently for him, and not to fret because of the person who prospers in his way. Waiting here includes not comparing yourself with people who seem to be doing better. Wait here is a verb for a person who is still doing the next right thing. Lamentations 3:25-26 says the LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him, and that it is good to hope and quietly wait for his salvation. The writer says it in a book of grief, so the waiting is done in hard times. > Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD. > (Psalm 27:14) > Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. > (Psalm 37:7) > The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. > (Lamentations 3:25-26) ## Hope for what you cannot see Paul says that we were saved in hope, and that hope that is seen is not hope. If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 12:12 gives three companions: rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles and continuing steadfastly in prayer. A clean month is hard to see from inside it. Hope in this sense does not need visible progress every day. It needs a next small step, repeated. > For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. > (Romans 8:24-25) > rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles, continuing steadfastly in prayer, > (Romans 12:12) ## The farmer and the seed James tells believers to be patient, and uses a farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth until it receives the early and late rain. In Mark 4 Jesus describes God's Kingdom as seed a man casts on the ground. The man sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed grows though he does not know how. The earth bears fruit by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain. Both pictures say that growth takes time and that much of it happens out of sight. Your part is to tend the field: pray, read, stay close to people, and not dig up the seed to see how it is doing. > Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. > (James 5:7-8) > He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’t know how. For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. > (Mark 4:26-28) ## He will complete it Paul tells the Philippians that he is confident that he who began a good work in them will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. He writes it as encouragement to a church he loves, and it names God as the one who works. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says there is a season for everything under heaven, and 3:11 says God has made everything beautiful in its time. Hebrews 6:12 asks believers not to be sluggish but to imitate those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises. Patience with the process includes patience with the person you are while it happens. Paul's words show a God who is still at work in people over time. > being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. > (Philippians 1:6) > For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. > (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11) > that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises. > (Hebrews 6:12) - Renounce counts your clean days and clean nights one at a time, so slow progress becomes visible. - If you slip, treat it as one day and not the whole story. The return log restarts the count without a wall of shame. ## A prayer for patience Lord, I want to be finished already. Teach me to wait for you with strength and courage. Help me to trust that you are growing something even when I cannot see it, and to take one small step today. Amen. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the Bible say about patience? Wait for the LORD (Psalm 27:14), be patient like a farmer (James 5:7-8), and trust that he who began a good work will complete it (Philippians 1:6). ### Why is change so slow? The Bible does not give a reason for each case, but Mark 4:26-28 pictures growth as gradual: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain. ### What if I keep falling while I wait? Waiting is not pretending. Confess, return and keep going (1 John 1:9). Philippians 1:6 shows Paul confident that God finishes what he begins. ### Is patience the same as doing nothing? No. Psalm 27:14 pairs waiting with strength and courage, and Romans 12:12 pairs it with prayer. Waiting is active. ### How do I stay patient with myself? Treat yourself as you would treat a friend in the same place. Lamentations 3:22-23 says God's mercies are new every morning, and you can begin again each day. ## Sources (checked 2026-10-01) - [World English Bible (public domain), eBible.org](https://ebible.org/find/details.php?id=engwebp)