Patient Endurance

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)

Patient endurance, huh? I want to do God's will, and I was wondering what I needed now, so this is my answer.

Ok, I'm a runner (or at least I can keep up with some friends who like to run), so I know what endurance is. You can't just quit when you feel out of breath or like you can't push yourself anymore. One of my friends taught me that when you feel like you can't go any longer, if you push through, you'll be able go twice as far. It works! I tried it.

So, I feel like I have endurance, but the patient part is killing me. We live in a fast pace, get-it-now society. Everything is instant. But God hasn't ever been that way, and remember, He doesn't change. We have to get on God's clock, and let Him be God. Let Him work things out in His timing.

Then, I think I figured out how to have patient endurance and I come across these verses:

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1: 5-8 (NLT)

Of course we want to be productive and useful!

"The more you grow like this" tells me that it's a process. The good news is that patient endurance is just after self-control and next is godliness, with the end result being love for everyone.

Why should we strive to love everyone? First, it's Christ-like and we are Christians. Second, love covers a multitude of sins. Love brings peace and unity. Love gives and not takes. It gives you peace, not takes your peace. It gives you joy, not takes your joy. Love overcomes negativity. Love sees the good in others.

It's great that you have faith, but you have to grow. This is how to grow if you want to be productive and useful. I don't know what God wants me to do or be, but I know I want to be productive and useful, so this intrigued me.

Look closely at those steps. Ever wondered why someone wasn't loving towards others? They skipped something.

The first step is moral excellence, which is pretty common among Christians, but how common is knowledge? Maybe so many lack self-control because they lack knowledge. Knowledge doesn't just come to you. You have to seek it out. Study. Go to college or dig into something you really want to learn more about. Open your mind and see the other points of view. Appreciate the differences in other people. These things bring knowledge.

College also teaches self-control in many ways. I read a quote that said, "Intelligent people are more likely to avoid conflict which explains why some people notice everything, but chose to say nothing." They are exercising self-control!

Exercise that self-control and you come to patient endurance. And do you see what's next? Godliness! When you have godliness, brotherly affection and love follow.

Even if you aren't focused on becoming productive and useful, becoming loving is a great reward. Not only does love create peace, it brings you peace. It's so much more peaceful to love everyone. Next time someone really makes you mad or you remember a good reason that you don't like someone, wipe it out with love. Just be nice when you are expected to be silent. Smile when you could look away. Speak to someone who you'd rather not even see.

Recently, our pastor preached that this is an "add on" process... and your miracle is in the "add on!" If you are stuck at patient endurance, hang in there, keep adding on and your miracle is on the way!