December 10, 2014 MODELS OF PATIENT ENDURANCE READ James 5:10-11. What do Job and the prophets have in common? Why do you think these examples are highlighted? What personal lessons can we take away from these stories for ourselves amid our own trials? ____________________________________________________________ The prophets of Israel were faithful in preaching the word of the Lord without altering or compromising it. Hebrews, in extolling the prophets fidelity to God, paints a clear picture: they stopped the mouths of lions [Daniel]. Quenched the violence of fire [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], escaped the edge of the sword [Elijah and Elisha],. . .had . .. imprisonment [Jeremiah and Micaiah],...stoned [Zechariah, son of Jehoiada],... sawn asunder [Isaiah] . . . [and] slain with the sword [see 1 Kings 19:10] (Heb. 11:33-37). Of course, Jobs sufferings are also proverbial, as is the patience he exemplified despite derision by his own wife and the censure of those who came to commiserate with him. What set these heroes of faith and many others apart from the normal or average follower of God? James mentions several qualities: patience, endurance, and, above all, hope and trust in God. One of the attributes is patience (makrothymias), also translated as longsuffering or forbearance. It refers to the capacity to stand up under difficult circumstances and trials, to weather whatever life (or the devil!) throws at us. The prophets endured all their suffering for the word of God patiently (James 5:10). The word is used frequently in the New Testament, including in a reference to Abraham waiting patiently during his many years of sojourning for God to fulfill His promise to give him a son (Heb. 6:12, 15). It also describes Jesus bearing up patiently through all His sufferings and death on the cross (2 Pet. 3:15). Endurance (hypomone), on the other hand, focuses on the end goal of this process, looking forward to the finish line. Job is put forward as the epitome of this quality. Despite all he suffered, Job looked steadfastly toward the final vindication he expected to receive (Job 14:13-15, 19:23-27). ** What are you struggling with now? What have you prayed for that has not yet come? How often have you even felt a sense of hopelessness? Think through the trials of some of the Bible characters listed above (or others); imagine how helpless they must have felt at times. What can you draw from their suffering that could help you work through your own?
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:58:56 +0000