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.
