4 Lessons from St. Patrick

Every March, I see an unusual number of people wearing green and realize I’ve forgotten about another holiday. Not the “National Pizza Day” or “International Hug-A-Friend Day” holidays that litter our social media channels, but a real, historical holiday that, for some reason, has stood the test of time: St. Patrick’s Day.

Instead of just wearing shamrocks and consuming an excess of green food-coloring, I figured we could honor the life of this incredible real person by learning from his life. There is a reason his life has been celebrated for thousands of years…and it’s not just the corned beef hash.

Let’s look at four lessons from the life of St. Patrick:

1. God Never Wastes a Hurt

Patrick was born in Britain in 387 AD, just a few hundred years after Jesus. He was born to wealthy parents and was brought up going to church—though he later admitted he did not really know God then. At age 16, his life was forever changed. He was captured by Irish pirates off the British coast and taken to Ireland, a barbarian, wild, and violent land. He was sold as a slave to a tribal chieftain and was forced into hard labor. His most important years for learning a trade or gaining an education were stolen from him. Dozens of times he was close to death at the hands of his slave master. The greed of others cost him all his life’s dreams. 

However, God never wastes a hurt, he brings good out of evil. When Paul writes to the persecuted Christians in Rome, he states “…we know that God causes everything to work together for the good…”[1] 

This deep wound for Patrick could have burdened him with bitterness for the rest of his life. Instead, God forged a path and life purpose for Patrick out of this evil. After 6 years of slavery, Patrick escaped and returned to his homeland. Though he was overjoyed to be home, Patrick felt called to bring God’s salvation back to the nation that enslaved him. After years of training for ministry, he got on a ship and headed back to bring God’s light into the place of his darkest life chapter. Ireland and the Western world was forever changed as a result.

God is still at work at bringing good out of bad, light out of the dark. The same God that brought life out of death (Easter is coming up!) is working good out of bad in your life. Look for where God is working in your wounds, then find hope in what God can do through them. “Through His wounds you are healed”[2], and sometimes, through your wounds, he heals others.

2. Wait on God…but Make the Most of the Waiting

Patrick worked for 6 years at the hands of his slave master. He worked and waited to be freed. Could you imagine the feelings of injustice and anger, waiting on God to make this right? Despite this, Patrick did not waste this time of waiting. During his enslavement, Patrick focused on learning the Celtic language and culture, a tool God used powerfully later on in his life. More importantly, he found God in this dark season. It was during this time that Patrick drew nearest to God and cultivated a habit of prayer and dependence on him. 

He writes of his time enslaved as a shepherd: “I did not know the true God…But after I came to Ireland — every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed — the love of God and His reverence came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened…I now see, because the spirit within me was then strong.”[3] 

If you are in a season of waiting, wait intentionally. God is still active in the in-between. It’s most often that God does his best and deepest work in the in-between. Take a moment now and think back to a time when God grew your character during an in-between season, when you allowed Him. What should/could you be learning or growing in right now that God could use powerfully in the future?

3. Speak Truth in the Language of Your Community

There were many challenges upon returning to Ireland with a mission, but Patrick found great success because he spoke in the language of those he came to serve, and he understood their culture. Though he was quick to name the pitfalls of the Celtic culture (human sacrifices, worship of idols, violence, etc.), he took time to understand the people he was called to love. Patrick used the language, values, and images understood by the Irish to speak to them. Legend has it, Patrick used a 3-leaf clover to explain the Trinity, a timeless image of proclaiming God’s love and character in a way people understand. 

This is summed up beautifully in Paul’s first letter to Corinth: “Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ…When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”[4]

As modern-day Jesus disciples, we should use this same strategy to find common ground with those we are called to love. Speak truth, but speak in a language those around you understand. Take a moment now and think: What are the values of those around you? What fears/anxieties do they harbor? How can Jesus use you to speak clarity and truth into these things today?

4. True Boldness Begins in Humility

During his time in Ireland, Patrick was so successful in sharing God’s love that he baptized potentially tens of thousands of new Christians and trained over 350 Irish pastors (imagine planting 350+ churches!) to continue his work after his death. He battled against Druid/Celtic priests, had dozens attempts on his life, and even challenged some Christian religious elites that questioned his motives. Though he was a symbol of boldness and bravery, he began with a humble dependence on God.

It was not the confidence in himself that drove Patrick to be the bold, but a confidence in God and who God made him to be. Early in his life story, he writes: “God watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and evil, he guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.”[5] Patrick has a famous prayer called The Shield of Saint Patrick that embodies Patrick’s dependence on God…and the boldness that God brought him.

Where do you hold confidence in things that are brittle? What truths has God said to you about who you are? Where do you need to rely more on his words than the words other people have spoken over you? Rely on God and his Truth, then step out in boldness to be the person he has made you to be. Live the life he has called you to live. 

I am so grateful we have broken, Christ-saved, and Christ-commissioned people throughout history to learn from. Though the world was a very different place almost two millennia ago, we still live in a world desperate for God’s love…a world desperate for bold, humble, context-aware, patient, and commissioned followers of Jesus. Take a step into that identity, for the sake of God’s purposes in today’s world.

[1] Romans 8:28, NLT

[2] 1 Peter 2:24, NLT

[3] The Confession of St. Patrick, translated from the Latin by Ludwig Bieler

[4] 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, NLT.

[5] The Confession of St. Patrick