The dictionary states endurance means “to carry on through, despite hardships”, and patience is “the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset- persevering calmly when faced with difficulties”. The Bible tells us that developing endurance and patience into our lives will bring beneficial and valuable spiritual fruit into our lives. But to put it plainly, our ‘natural man’ shuns learning these great spiritual qualities because the tool of tribulation must be used to teach enduring patience (Romans 5:3). In other words we don’t learn enduring patience when everything seems to be going our way. On the contrary, we usually learn enduring patience when we have no other choice, but to turn to Jesus for grace to help in time of need. At the point we choose to turn to Jesus, and allow the Holy Spirit to be our helper- God will begin a transforming work within our soul.
God has the ability to create positive characteristics of enduring patience in us as we continue through what feels like hard, negative situations. Some examples of this concept are: struggling through financial problems, waiting on someone you love to change for the better, the student who struggles to stay focused on long-term studies, the mother who feels overwhelmed in caring for her children; teachers who want to walk out of their classrooms because it is so hard, but choose to stay and give their best day after day; the woman who wants emotional healing but is tempted to stop the hard work it takes to undo the past, yet doesn’t turn back; the worried worker who loses hope as he looks for a job, but doesn’t give up; the daughter who cares for her elderly father during a long illness, and keeps loving, caring, and giving; the man who struggles for years with many health issues, but doesn’t lose hope.
In all of these situations, God does not desire to hurt or punish us. His design is to bring us to a new place where enduring patience does a thorough work within us, and we become God’s people perfectly and fully developed [with no defeats], lacking in nothing! Enduring patience is true freedom, strength, and power flowing from the Almighty into our lives. The greater your passion for more of Him- the greater reward He will give you!
“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people perfectly and fully developed [with no defeats], lacking in nothing” (James 1:4)
