2024-07-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about patience and humility. You’ll remember that two Greek words were introduced last week: hupomone, which means endurance, and makrothumia, which is patience over time. Endurance can be either physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual, i.e. taking tangible or intangible forms. Patience over time is mostly intangible, but just as important when it comes to having and maintaining faith in Jesus Christ. Greek lessons are not my goal in bringing this up, but rather letting us see two words that were used in the original NT text. This week things have happened in my own life that have caused me to think a lot about obedient faithfulness and the relationship God wants to have with all of us. There are times when our challenges are severe disappointments that lead to us reacting in such a way to blame God. This happened to me when I realized I could no longer stand at long choir rehearsals as I had for at least 40 years and again when the reality of my husband’s physical death and my loss of his companionship dawned on me. Each time, my anger was misplaced and was flat out wrong! In the first circumstance, God was closing one door of my ministry to open up a much larger one influencing more people for Him. When I realized this, I felt the need to confess and apologize to God for my thoughts and behavior. The second time it happened, I was going through a natural process of grieving that has recognizable stages. I had to realize that my reactions were entirely selfish. Yes, I had to recognize that my husband’s needs were greater than mine and that God wasn’t sending this loving and kind man to hell. Instead, He was bringing Peter closer to Himself and rewarding him for an earthly life of faith despite his illness, healing him, and bringing him to his richly deserved heavenly eternity of sweet fellowship with Him. By the way, it’s the same kismet I yearn for, for myself!
Learning to wait for God is at the core of this need for both spiritual endurance and longstanding patience. PS 62: 1-2: Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress; I will never be shaken.” So, what is this core? It is our very relationship with God itself. He is not only the One Who created us, but He is far wiser than any human, has unparalleled love for His human creation, and knows exactly the right time and way to call a person home to Him [IS 55: 8-9; RO 8: 38-39; 1 JN 1: 5; PR 16: 9; IS 49: 8a]. Please look up any of the latter you don’t know. In overall fashion, they tell us that we need to yield to God and learn to trust Him at His word. If we can’t do this or won’t, we can’t hope to take an unselfish approach to working through our challenges. We deny ourselves the understanding that we can have from COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory.”
Moving forward after a severe challenge—an earthly-life altering accident, an illness, or the loss of a loved one, for example—is necessary. Consideration for the wishes of a loved one in heaven receiving a richly deserved reward or those on earth, who are supportive, matters. They don’t deserve to be around gloomy Gus who refuses to understand the nature of God’s loving relationship with humans and is miserable all the time. That isn’t what these good people want to have to endure or what our loved ones in heaven would want us to be. Surely God wants us to keep our eyes on Him and do what we can to prepare ourselves for the day He takes us up to heaven or must give up on us. This takes endurance and longstanding patience in faith on our part. It’s a choice we must make! In no way do we want to dishonor either God or our loved ones in heaven this way; we love them as much as ever. It’s just moving forward with our lives on earth while we are honoring our departed loved ones and God at the same time!
PRAYER: Dearest Father, You have given us this teaching through the Lord Jesus via Paul of great value in. COL 1: 9b-12 on which this prayer is based. We continually ask You to fill us with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases Him. Then, we will produce all kinds of good deeds, and will grow in our knowledge of God. May Your glorious power make us strong, so we can endure it all with patience and with joy. We thank an praise the Father Who has qualified us to have a share of what He has preserved for those in His Kingdom of Light, We pray in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to continue this discussion of patience and endurance by adding one more Greek word to it—the word for mercy. All of this fits into the Spirit’s gifts as given in GA 5: 22-23, love, joy, peace, patience [forbearance], goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness [humility], and self-control. Our Scriptures are also a gift from the Holy Spirit, Who inspired the human authors of the Bible to write down God’s most precious teaching for us. 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. This also includes being good to oneself at times when challenged and trusting in God. PS 9: 10, “And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” That should give us comfort! Thanks and praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2024. All Rights Reserved,
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