- An attitude of forbearance under provocation, entertaining no thoughts of actions when wrongfully treated
- An attitude of courageous endurance under difficult circumstances, without murmuring, complaining, or quitting BUT waiting in hope
Greek word for patience is macrothumia - macro: long, thumos: temper
- idea of anger taking very long to build before it is expressed
- if and when expressed, it is under control.
(Mirabel emphasised the importance of knowing the Fruit of the Spirit in the order Paul wrote in the Bible cos' it implies a divine order)
Read Nehemiah 9:6-9, 11-13, 15-17, 19, 21, 25, 28, 30-31.
v.30-31 For many years You were patient with them. By Your Spirit You admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighbouring peoples. But in Your great mercy You did not put an end to them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and merciful God.
i. Impatience often comes because of faulty or inappropriate goals
> perfectionist?
ii. Holding on to rights
- Do you dare to leave things totally in God's hands?
- Do you dare to be out-of-control, and to admit you are?
- Read Numbers 20:10-12 - Moses was angry with the Israelites for their disobedience and was unwilling to surrender his anger to God even while carrying out God's work.
-Result: Moses could not enter the promised land.
i. See (others) through Jesus' eyes
In the scenarios below, Jesus' thoughts are marked in italic:
We may wonder:
Why are they acting the way they are? It could be because of tremendous pain or loss in their lives.
Why do they seem so arrogant, distant or unwilling to develop a friendship? It could be that they are protecting themselves from rejection.
Why does their heart seem so hard towards the things of God? It could be that they have had an incredible loss and they are blaming God. (very easy for anyone to do so)
Our patience and understanding can be used by the Holy Spirit to help others.
ii. Imitate Christ who is our example;
stay close in your relationship with God and His character
- 1 Peter 2:20b-23
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth."
When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted himself to Him (God) who judges justly.
- Remember the character of our patient God in Nehemiah 9:30-31.
No comments:
Post a Comment