Patience or Tenacity

I like understanding the meaning of words and how words draw pictures. Let’s consider the words Patience or Tenacity.

Patience

The definition for patience is “the capacity for waiting: the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.”

“… the capacity for waiting: the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.”

My mind conjures up a picture of a father working with a child, teaching them how to build a bird feeder.  Teaching children how to work with sharp tools takes lots of calm perseverance. I can almost hear birds singing when I consider the word patience

Tenacity

I also enjoy y the tenacity. From tenacious, its definition is “determined or stubborn: tending to stick firmly to any decision, plan, or opinion without changing or doubting it.” 

“… determined or stubborn: tending to stick firmly to any decision, plan, or opinion without changing or doubting it.” 

Here’s another great word picture. In my mind, I see a teenage girl, arms folded and her jaw set in defiance. She’s standing in front of Mom, daring her to try and change her mind. Teenager is certain her mother does not understand and that she, the daughter, just needs to stick to her guns. If she does Mom will eventually wise up and get with the program.

Different words, different pictures.

I like Patience and Tenacity and rely on both. When appropriate, I can take a deep breath and pull up wisdom from Proverbs. That’s when I lean on patience. However, when I need to push through–like moments when I want to crumble but need to face the next day–tenacity gets me there.

Which do you favor, Patience or Tenacity? Share on X

Scripture Examples of Patience and Tenacity

We can find both Patience and Tenacity when we look at the life of Jacob. He exhibited great patience as he waited to take Rachel for his bride. (Genesis 29:16-28) But Jacob wasn’t afraid to wrestle with God throughout the night until he blessed him. (Genesis  32:22-30). Jacob’s tenacity … his determination … besides giving him a wrenched hip, also gave Israel its new name.

What about you? Can you say you’ve had times of both patience and tenacity in your life? I’d love to hear about it.

First posted this January 24, 2011

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