The Doctor: Patience is Not Passive

We often think of patience as passive; but it is a very active virtue.  Certain people have a reputation for being patient, but  sometimes the real truth about them is that they are just dull.  They are not sensitive, they do not react, and are more or less stupid.  That is not patience.  Patience is an active virtue, for which reason we are constantly exhorted to it.  It is a virtue that has to be developed, so that it becomes strong and firm.  – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 8, p. 113