Bible Verses About Patience
Biblical patience covers two different things — waiting on God when nothing seems to change, and bearing with people — and the verses address both separately.
English uses one word, but the Bible's patience verses split into two groups. The first is waiting: on an answer, a season, a promise that has not arrived — the language of the Psalms and Lamentations. The second is long-suffering toward other people, the trait Paul lists among the clothes believers 'put on.' Both are presented as something practiced and grown, not a temperament some people simply have.
Featured verses
“Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.”
Psalm 27:14 · WEB
“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 · WEB
“rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles, continuing steadfastly in prayer,”
Romans 12:12 · WEB
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 · WEB
“Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;”
Colossians 3:12 · WEB
More verses
“I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me, and heard my cry.”
Psalm 40:1 · WEB“Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:9 · WEB“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 · WEB“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 · WEB“The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 · WEB
Questions about patience
What does the Bible say about waiting on God?
Psalm 27:14 and Lamentations 3:25-26 describe waiting as active rather than idle — paired with courage, hope and seeking — and Psalm 40:1 records the outcome from the other side: 'He turned to me, and heard my cry.'
Is patience a fruit of the Spirit?
Yes. Galatians 5:22 lists it among the fruit of the Spirit (rendered 'patience' or 'longsuffering' depending on the translation), which frames it as something that grows over time rather than a fixed personality trait.
Why does James say trials produce patience?
James 1:2-4 describes endurance as the result of testing, the way strength comes from resistance. The point is not that hardship is good in itself but that it can produce something lasting — maturity that is 'lacking in nothing.'