Hebrews 6:15
Observation:
God had made a promise to Abraham but the fulfillment of that promise was not in an instant. Rather, there would be a lengthy period of time before he would see that promise come to fruition. As a result, Abraham’s character as a man of patient endurance lives on, and his endurance bore fruit as he was able to obtain the promise, not just for himself but for all of the children of Abraham who would come later.
Application:
We live in a world that is influenced by Moore’s Law. “Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles about every two years.” (Wiki) Now, you may wonder what that has to do with anything, but it has a lot to do with our lives. The world is changing and adapting at a faster rate than humanity has ever experienced because of the ability to build smaller and faster technology. If you feel overwhelmed, you probably are because the rate of change is now faster than the human’s ability to adapt. Therefore we constantly live with pressure to do things quickly, and patient endurance is no longer seen as a virtue.
Succumbing to the pressures of culture and society should not be signs of the Christian walk. Therefore, the patient endurance found in the life of Abraham should be something to emulate in the life of a believer. We don’t need everything right now. We don’t need to give into the pressure of society to make immediate decisions. We can wait expectantly upon God’s promises and know that they are true.
While we wait, we slow down and learn more about God’s character. It’s in the relationship that we are formed. It was through life experiences that Abraham ultimately became the man who could converse with God. Without the journey of patient endurance we would never discover who we can become in Christ. We would end far too soon, instantly gratified.
No matter what we are facing, may God give us the grace to endure patiently. Along the journey may we willingly be forged into the likeness of Christ, revealing the patient work of the Master.
Prayer:
Lord, may I learn the virtue of patient endurance. Amen.
This post was written by Rev Carla Sunberg. You can find her original post here: reflectingtheimage.blogspot.com/2018/10/patient-endurance.html