Sometimes patience is regarded as a passive attitude that makes one doggedly endure affliction or frustration and wait resignedly for relief from some source outside oneself. Jesus' healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda rebukes this mistaken view. (See John 5:2–9.)

For thirty-eight years the man had been unable to walk. The popular belief was that from time to time an angel troubled the waters of the pool and whoever was first to step into the pool when the water was stirred would be cured of whatever ailment he had. The man told Jesus that because there was no one to help him into the pool, someone else was always first. Jesus told him to rise and walk, and immediately the man got up and walked, completely free.

Time isn't a factor in such healing. A true sense of patience includes the positive expression of qualities indicative of man's true nature. Mrs. Eddy places patience in the company of active good when she says in Science and Health, "What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds." ^{Science and Health, p. 4;}

Self-depreciation and inactivity are no part of true patience. In its exposition of the book of job, The Interpreter's Bible says of patience, "The very word itself in Greek is a twisting and a turning; a holding on, like Jacob to the angel, 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless me' (Gen. 32:26)." ^{The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. III, p. 931;} The self-searching and self-correction of such activity is effectual and fruitful patience.

We need to rouse ourselves from apathy and mental laziness to answer the call of the Christ to rise and recognize man's true being as God's effective expression. In proportion as we understand man's true, immortal nature, we can express dominion over the false testimony of material sense and its repertoire of discord and limitation. We can increasingly see the operation of God's goodness everywhere.

A student of Christian Science was faced with a complicated and stubborn business problem that involved others as well as herself. Time and again when a settlement seemed within reach, there was a stalemate. She often found it necessary to reinforce her confidence in the truth that God governs, and to overcome temptations to yield to impatience and discouragement. But she continued to express gratitude to God for His blessings and to maintain her serenity.

There were times when impatience complained, "I wish this were solved" or weariness queried, "How long will it take?" But she recognized the erroneous nature of such suggestions and renewed her trust in God's government. She saw that wishing for something to happen is wrong because it acknowledges that one believes he is a mortal, incomplete and imperfect. In Christian Science, the basis for prayer and practice is the grateful realization of present perfection, the unbroken completeness of God's creation.

She saw the necessity for patience and stamina in her prayers, and that this was not a burden but a joyous opportunity for growth in grace. She found that she was increasingly able to maintain a cheerful, confident attitude, not dependent upon any change in her circumstances but based on a recognition of God's ever-present goodness. The problem was ultimately solved successfully, with more benefits to all concerned than had been foreseen. Exercising true patience, instead of trying to force an answer or accept an expedient settlement, led to a solution that was right for all.

One need not give up in defeat if there seems to be no immediate answer to his prayers. But he must be clear that he is not working from the standpoint that he is a limited mortal trying to overcome some big difficulty—that he is attempting to know the truth and thus is working from mortality to perfection. This is working in the wrong direction—trying to wrest concord from discord. Science and Health affirms, "The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind,—that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle." ^{Science and Health, p. 275;}

Correct reasoning in Christian Science is always from the standpoint that God, good, is All—from the standpoint of present and immutable perfection. Working patiently with the facts of divine Science and standing firmly for Truth does not mean standing stiffly as a frail mortal trying to hold on to God. Standing with God means completely relying on God, confident that His omnipresence and omnipotence prevail without restriction or exception.

God holds His idea, man, always in perfect and inseparable relationship to Himself as eternally His self-expression, spiritual, whole, and indestructible. The consciousness of this truth inspires the active expression of gratitude and true patience.

The Bible says, "Thou upholdest me in mine integrity." ^{Ps. 41:12;} One striving to overcome some long-standing problem, and perhaps fearing that he may wilt under the stress, need not believe in a limited capacity to hold on. It is not limited personal selfhood that does the holding on, but divine Principle that upholds one in uprightness. Mrs. Eddy says, "When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path." ^{Science and Health, p. 254.}