Patience

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will
continue to do God’s will.
Then you will receive all that he has promised. (Hebrews 10:36)

(A note from Patricia: My husband wrote this article, but I would like to preface it with a few words. The sudden loss of the use of the left side of his body, which happened by a stroke last February,  has been an enormous trial. And with the stroke he also lost the use of his dominant hand. I have watched as he has learned to eat and write, among other things, with his non-dominant hand. This article was slowly printed by that hand and typed by me. Patience has been the only way he has been able to face each day. I think what he has learned through this will be most helpful for others who are also facing great trials in their lives.)

Luke 9:51 – “…he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (KJV)
Heb 12:1 – “…and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
2 Tim 4:17 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (BSB)

From the time Jesus launched into the ministry, He was focused on and dedicated to one purpose. He was headed to Jerusalem and destined for the cross. “I have come to do thy will, O God.” One might say that Jesus’ life was outlined by the three scriptures given above.

• He had a destination.
• He was kept on track through perseverance.
• He completed His assignment.

The writer of Hebrews begins his letter establishing the superiority of Christ. By the time you arrive at the end of Chapter 10, you have been exposed to God’s eternal plan and Jesus’ purpose in that. To accomplish this end, God is completely replacing the Old with the New. We see that the old system was but a shadow of the reality through Christ. Given this move from Old to New Covenant, the author of Hebrews is concerned about one thing—will those he is writing to set their faces to complete the course they started? Will they not waver? Will they exercise the necessary patience to reach the destination prescribed by the Lord?

In Chapter 10 the author tells them directly, “For ye have need of patience…” This perseverance is essential in their fulfilling the will of God and being recipients of the promise of God. Our writer sets forth this deficient even after complimenting their exemplary behavior in the face of affliction and suffering.

Patience may seem to be a strange issue for our author to be concerned over until we delve into the deeper meaning as gleaned from the New Testament Greek. We tend to think of patience as being nicely tolerant over unanticipated delays. Dinner is late or a prescribed appointment is not on schedule, etc. However, this concept is far richer in its thrust. The Greek word used here is hupomonā and is formed by combining hupo and meno.  The literal definition would simply be “to stand under.” However, as used in the New Testament we have the following meanings:

• Steadfastness, constancy , endurance
• Patient enduring, sustaining
• The characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.

The concern here wasn’t about typical intolerance and finger-tapping impatience. It was a genuine apprehension that the readers would be bona fide disciples who would understand Christianity as a pilgrimage unto the full stature life in Christ—a life that was destined to have trials and tribulations which would doubtless bring discouragement to many followers and this temptation to quit the course prior to achieving the true goal.

Most of us have had the experience of having started something only to stop short of our original intention or goal. I was once part of the Boy Scouts of America where the obvious goal or end was progressing through the ranks and achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. For whatever reason, I stopped my “pilgrimage” at Star Scout. Instead of a footprint on the way, that rank for me became a monument. To borrow a quote, “A monument only says, ‘at least I got this far,’ while a footprint says, ‘this is where I was when I moved again.’”

Unfortunately, salvation as found in Jesus Christ has been monumentalized rather than being a pilgrimage unto conformity to the image of Christ. It is paraded out in a weekly ritual and duly celebrated. For most, the destination has already been reached. There is no pilgrimage, no standing under the circumstances learning what God is accomplishing through them. If one’s direction becomes troublesome, you simply change direction. If I followed this philosophy, I would never have become a Marine, or earned a degree, of for that matter remained married for over 60 years. The greatest goals and achievements are never reached by following the path of least resistance.

Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan’s masterful analogy of the Christian journey, wonderfully illustrates our concept of biblical patience as Christian, the story’s principal protagonist, chooses again and again to enter in at the narrow way on his pilgrimage to the Celestial City. He chose the path fraught with temptations and trials because he knew it led to life.

When Jesus went on the mount and met with Moses and Elijah, Peter wanted to build monuments. However, Jesus knew the meeting to be just a respite along the way and chose instead to leave a footprint. He knew his journey would not end until he reached Jerusalem.

Jesus summed up our discussion while in a Samaritan village when he said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.” The Greek “finish” means to carry through completely, to accomplish, to bring to an end.

Are we willing to do the will of God? Will we choose to stand under? Do we want the eternal purpose of God?

You are blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God. Psalm 119:1