October 26, 2016

Patient Endurance

Written by Boyd Bailey

patient-endurance-10-26

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 26, 2016

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.   Revelation 13:10

Patient endurance is not easy, but many times it is necessary. If you change jobs every two years, ten times in a row, you do not have twenty years of work experience. You have two years of work experience in ten different places. So, make sure that you learn what God intends for you to learn where you are, before you move on. This is one of Satan’s ploys. His desire is to keep you reactive to life, accompanied by a shallow faith.

Your faith has the opportunity to go deep when you stay somewhere for a while, but your faith remains shallow when you run from resistance. Resistance is a faith builder. When you are pressed against by life (what sometimes seems from all sides), you have the opportunity for growth. This is where patient endurance can serve you well. Patient endurance says that I will stay in this marriage, because it is for better or for worse. I will allow God to change me for the better, and I will trust Him to do the same for my spouse over time.

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).

Patient endurance is illustrated throughout the Bible. Jesus patiently endured the cross. He patiently endured His critics and, ultimately, He more than restored His reputation when He proved His claims by His resurrected life. David patiently endured the fallout from his adultery and murder. He had pushed himself to the point of totally turning his back on God, but ultimately, he turned back to God and became a broken and humbled leader. Hannah patiently endured her inability to bear children. Her faithfulness to God during barrenness was a testimony of encouragement to friends, family and a nation. Her womb was empty, but her faith was pregnant with God possibilities.

Do not confuse procrastination with patient endurance. Patient endurance is active and productive. It is not misguided, apathetic or irresponsible waiting. It is daily depending on and seeking God for His best. Therefore, patiently endure for God’s sake and for the sake of others. Heavenly rewards await those who patiently endure. Use your influence to help others patiently endure their situations. Faithfulness, when you don’t feel like it, is evidence of a maturing faith. You may be on the verge of experiencing God’s very best. Patient endurance pays off!

“You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about” (James 5:11).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I trust You as I wait on You in hopeful anticipation of doing Your will.

Application

How can I grow my patience in affliction, so I can be a blessing to those around me for Jesus’ sake?

Related Reading

Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3; Hebrews 10:32, 36; Philippians 1:29; James 1:3-4

Post/Tweet today

Faithfulness, when you don’t feel like it, is evidence of a maturing faith. #WisdomHunters #patientendurance

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Comments

  1. KimberlyMac says:

    “I feel like this spoke the clarity my heart has been searching for. I have been restless in my faith lately and deeply disturbed in my soul about our current political season we are all “growing through”. It seems as if God is unearthing every secreted thing lately and it is overwhelming to see the real heart condition of our nation so up close and personal, so divinely revealed. I feel like for me at this time in my walk with God, the wisdom about patient endurance was the missing piece, it hit home in my heart. There has been such a barrenness of unanswered prayer, but now I realize that the possibilities of God is the right focus for my heart, it is a kingdom perspective and I have been fixating on my worldly viewpoint and it has beat up on my hope. Changing that. Thank you. God bless you. I am so grateful that you share your gift of wisdom with us.” KimberlyMac

  2. Gwynne says:

    Dear Kimberly,
    It is so good to hear from you again. We have missed your wise and sincere responses to the devotionals lately. Thank you for reaching out to us after reading “Patient Endurance”. I know Boyd we will grateful that this devotional blessed you with some clarity and we give all the glory to God!
    I think you speak for so many of us who are “caught up in” the restlessness of this season and I felt like the words Boyd wrote were a strong reminder to hang tight and be still.
    “So, make sure that you learn what God intends for you to learn where you are, before you move on. This is one of Satan’s ploys. His desire is to keep you reactive to life, accompanied by a shallow faith.”
    I appreciate your insight and transparency in your comments “There has been such a barrenness of unanswered prayer, but now I realize that the possibilities of God is the right focus for my heart, it is the kingdom perspective and I have been fixating on my worldly viewpoint and it has beat up my hope.” Sister, Amen and Amen to that!
    Thank you, Kimberly, once again we, the Wisdom Hunter’s family, are thankful for your insight. May God bless you as you go about shining His Light.
    Grateful,
    Gwynne
    “Be patient, then brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and the spring rains. You, too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7-8

  3. Natalie Perkins says:

    I wanted to First thank you for this beautiful uplifting of Gods word. Making it very clear and down to earth. I was reading my daily devotional and the scripture “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 NLT
    https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.10.36.NLT.
    It just rang in me. So I wanted to know what Patient endurance really meant. And your page is where it brought me to. Thank you! It is deep within me that I should “So, make sure that you learn what God intends for you to learn where you are, before you move on. This is one of Satan’s ploys. His desire is to keep you reactive to life, accompanied by a shallow faith.”
    I will look at being Patient in another light so thank you. We as humans want to hurry and get through things, but how are we to learn what God is saying. I believe that’s why He keeps us in a place for such a time. My prayer on this say will be,”God help me to be a person of Patient endurance” God bless you all.

  4. Elizabeth Langworthy says:

    Natalie, i was amazed because i went through the same process. I was studying Hebrews and wanted to be sure i knew what patient endurance meant. I googled it and came upon this devotional. It really helped my understanding and i am praying it will help my application. I know it will. I really need the Lord to help me remember these truths. Then the more i put it in practice the stronger i will be. God bless you. I appreciate how the replys move from 2016 to 2019 to me now in 2020. PTL!


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