Patience

James 5:7

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.

1.   The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance,

       misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

2.      An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when

       confronted with delay.

3.     Quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence

Patience and trust, the two are intricately linked together.

As Christian believers ours is a life of in-between living. We live every day of our lives in the dynamic tension between Christ’s incarnation and Christ’s second coming, between the Cross of Calvary and Calvary’s trumpet call on the great and glorious day of the Lord. Already/Not Yet existence, between redemption accomplished and redemption recognized and realized requires that we exercise great patience despite ever increasing opposition.

The Apostle Paul knew the difficulty this life of patience poses. To the Galatian Christians he writes, “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:22-24) Paul says, this life of patience is not the normal condition of any of our hearts. Rather, our desires and passions are adverse to patience. We find ourselves, caught in our human natures, struggling with patience frequently.

Yet, Almighty God offers to any of us the greatest example when it comes to patience. For he continually exercised extreme patience with Israel, even though Israel would repeatedly test God’s patience towards her. And where our patience would have fallen far short, God’s patience never falters. Even now, only because of God’s patience, are sinners given the necessary time to repent and turn around, amending their erroneous ways; as we eagerly await Christ’s return. This is the patience we are called to emulate in this life of in-between.

We too must be patient as we endure and face every opposition and adversity. For…

We are confident of better things..... things that belong to [our] salvation. [So,] show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but [be] imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:9-12)

Yet, this life of patience, the active endurance- perseverance- when faced with opposition and/or adversity, is an extremely challenging concept to grasp and comprehend, isn’t it? I mean who among us, when surrounded by the difficulties of life, desires to pray: “Lord, allow this present circumstance or challenge to linger until you have shown me, through this present situation, what it is you would have me to know and learn.”

NO!!!

Our prayer frequently models Jesus’ prayer in the Garden: “Take this cup from me!!”

In fact, rarely do we possess the courage or conviction to pray the remainder of Jesus’ prayer, “Lord, not what I will, but thy will be done.” We simply do not like praying this second prayer, do we? No, because when we pray this second prayer this is the exact point at which patience and trust collide with one another.

 patience and trust, the two are intricately linked. In fact, trust is the most difficult ingredient to patience. Because patience requires that I trust God, as well as those God has surround me with. Moreover, trust means that I have to, I must, completely rely on Another. I must be dependent upon that which I cannot control. And therein lies the biggest challenge to both patience and trust. For we may be quite alright with those things which we feel we can fundamentally control. But what about those things which we have no way of controlling? We have major issues when things are beyond our control.

Yet, it’s right here, when things are far beyond our control, that God does some of his greatest work in any of our lives.  Because it is at this very point, patience and trust colliding and stripping us bare of all of our preconceived notions and all of our human limitations, that we find the God of the universe orchestrating and working things together for our good, in ways we would never have imagined possible. Thus, after encountering this God again, far removed from our man-made boxes and constructs, we discover the absolute bedrock to both patience and trust.

It is only because of God that we can exercise patience in the face of adversity and opposition. God is the ONLY certainty in a world plagued with uncertainty in which we can fully and completely trust. Because only God’s sovereignty governs every event of this life of in-between living, whether insignificant or monumental. And when patience finds its anchor in the Almighty God of the universe, the very same God who delights to have his children, call him daddy- Abba, then we can face every adversity with Spirit-produced patience knowing that: “neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39)

May Almighty God himself bless each one of us with the gift of patience as we continue to live this life of in-between. And “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant [us] to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together [we] may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)

To this end Lord, find us faithful.

Perseverance

Ephesians 6:18

To that end keep alert with all perseverance

Perseverance                                                           

1.  Steady and continued action or belief, usually over a long period and especially      despite difficulties or setbacks.

The necessary ingredient to living in this world of in-between is perseverance.

My dad has an oft heralded saying that goes something like this: Life by the yard is hard; life by the inch is a cinch. Now, I’m sure my dad was not the one who originally coined this phrase, nevertheless it was a phrase that I heard often as I grew up.

And though there’s really nothing wrong with this saying at all, I had huge issues with it. To me this phrase always sounded an alarm. It pushed the panic button on my own logic. You see, here’s the problem I had with this saying; I’ve always been a big picture, future oriented, person. I’m the kind of person who is conditioned to living life in the here and now, while allowing the immediate future to influence this present reality. One eye fixed on the cares and concerns of today; while the other eye is set to the future in eager anticipation of what lies just beyond the horizon. And so for me, my dad’s saying used to drive me nuts! And, to be completely transparent, times remain when this is still the case.

Dad had this innate ability to offer this saying whenever he knew I needed it most. Though at the time, embattled in whatever dilemma or difficulty I was currently facing, this was always the last thing I wanted to hear.

           

            School stress, girl woes, job difficulties……

            Later to become marital concerns, financial stress, self-employment, 
            raising children…

            All of it, and so much more……

Never once did I want to measure these difficult times or seasons of my life in inches. Rather I longed for these seasons to be measured in yards, miles even! Whatever! So long as I didn’t have to be patient, or be still despite the troubles. I was over it, whatever it was, long before it ever began! During these times, as I often lamented whatever woe had befallen me with my dad, dad would listen, offer whatever tried and true advice he could, and then say softly and simply: “Now remember son, life by the yard is hard; life by the inch is a cinch.” It used to drive me bonkers!

But, as a young and restless boy, what I failed to understand-the one thing that has since transformed this saying for me- is this. Dad was right! And dad was right because he had enough history behind him to recognize the necessary ingredient to living in this world of in-between was and is perseverance. Moreover, what dad knew about perseverance he longed to teach to his children, and so he implemented a short little phrase to capture this reality; a phrase I can still remember today; in fact, a phrase I have often heard myself use with my own children. (It’s scary how often we sound just like our parents, isn’t it?)

Perseverance- call it whatever you want:

-          Steadfastness                    - Constancy

-          Patience                             - Determination

-          Persistence                        - Stubbornness

-          Stick-to-itiveness              -Or, as Paul says, Pressing On

All of these terms only highlight the one main point- perseverance is the ability to stay the course even when, or especially when, life gets difficult and arduous. Paul says, “This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) There can be no better example of a Biblical great than Paul who modeled the necessary ingredient in the Christian life of perseverance. Paul pressed on- persevered- despite prison, shipwreck, torture, false accusations, and so much more, setting an example for us, as Christians, to follow.

As Christians living in this world of in-between, between Redemption Accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary and Redemption Realized which is yet to come when Jesus Christ comes again at the second coming, we are called to persevere. Ours is only ever a life measured by difficulty and delay. Sickness, financial turmoil, family misunderstandings, divorce, job loss; not to mention wars and rumors of war, famine, amoral governments, and various and sundry anti-Christian opposition- all of this and so much more continually emphasize our need for perseverance.

And, it is only as we continue to persist, and this perseverance made possible only by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within the life of the believer, despite all of the in-between world delays and difficulties, that success- eternal life- will be achieved.

This is the beautiful picture John offers us in Revelation 21:1-5:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

This, my friends, is the hope of our perseverance. 

Holy Passion

Exodus 33: 13; 18

Show me your ways, so that I may know you

“Show me your glory, I pray.”

PASSION

1. Concentrated wisdom with high energy in the pursuit of meaning.

Passion produces purpose!

Passion- it’s contagious!

What is that one thing that drives you? That one thing that you are willing to devote your all to? This is where passion begins. Passion begins by asking each of us to define that one thing. What is your first love? And, why? This is where passion begins. But passion proceeds quickly by asking, “What is your motivation? What drives you to do the things you do?” And passion does not stop here. Rather it strips down deep below the surface of our life, to the very root of our reasoning. Why are you committed to this? And then it continues by asking how. How will you give voice to me, your passion? How will you achieve that to which you are so committed?  

It is here, in the questions of how, that passion promotes unity. For, as we answer the questions of how, we are drawn away from independent individualism and into community with those that share our same passion. In this way we toil together for our passion’s manifestation right here, right now. Passion promotes intensity, forcing us to concentrate all of our energy, putting forth our very best effort to achieve the desired result, our passion.  And because passion does this, it assures accomplishment providing intentionality to our life. Passion in fact creates purpose, which itself gives a depth of meaning to our life. Thus passion, because of purpose, forces us to rise high above the sin of mediocrity. Passion transforms us from a smoldering wild grass fire to the intensity of a fire produced by a welder’s torch, as we live united in the power of passion.

The story is told of an interview that occurred between a young aspiring author and a wily old veteran author. Upon sitting down and procuring his journalist’s notebook, the young author began the interview. The usual questions began flowing from the young author; Where and how did you get your start? What was the best piece you’ve ever written? How does inspiration happen? On and on the rookie writer probed the old veteran in the ebb and flow of question and answer.

Then the rookie asked the one question that forced all the others into the muted background of that moment. “If you had it to do all over again,” asked the young writer,“how or what would you do differently?”

As the tears threatened to cascade from the corners of the old veteran’s tired eyes, betraying the sensitivity hidden deep within, the veteran author replied. “Were I to have the opportunity to do it all over, I would find that one thing, that something or someone, big enough to devote my entire self, 100% of me, too.”

At the end of it all, even after a lifetime of achievement, that one thing the old veteran writer desired most was to have lived a life marked by passion. And, you and I aren’t that different, are we? We too desire to live lives marked by passion. We too long to unite all of our being, mind-heart-and soul, around that one thing.

So, let me ask a bold question, what if that which fueled our passion, that which became the one thing, was simply to know God more? To borrow from the Apostle Paul, “this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) What if this became the power of our passion? What if we prayed beside Moses, “God, show me your glory! Show me your ways!” And then, when God did reveal himself to us, because he will, what if willingly allowed God’s self-manifestation to transform us. Then could we be so bold as to live all of life with a holy passion, sharing these stories of transformation one with another. What if we became a people so filled and fueled by this holy passion that it radically transformed us that we could not help but make God known: in our work, in our play, at school, at home, in the market, in the public square.

Wherever we are- no matter the place, no matter the circumstance- may we be a people of holy passion! Lord, show us your glory! Show us your ways! May we be a people whose deepest desire is to know you and to make you known.

Are you bold enough to live all of your life marked by Holy Passion?