Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

Day Twenty-Five: Patience

“…Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience (hupomone) and longsuffering (makrothumia) with joyfulness.” (Col 1:11 KJV)

P atience is tied very closely with peace. Patience is the manifestation of a peace filled life. There are two Greek words that are translated as patience in the New Testament. The first is Makrothumis and it means to suffer long, to be slow in avenging wrongs or to be long-tempered. The second is 'hupomone' and it means to persevere or to be cheerfully constant. Longsuffering is almost an absent quality in our 'I want it now' culture. What happens to your attitude when your fast food isn’t fast? How do you respond when your high- speed internet is slow? How frustrated are you when the drive- thru Starbucks has a traffic jam? What happens when the instant-teller banking isn’t instant? Our impatience with others is often a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. So if you are struggling with someone else, ask yourself this question. Am I impatient with my own progress? For many years I had an illusion that I was seeking. Being fully aware of my own personal struggles and weakness, I had a belief that God was impatiently waiting for me to get my act together. When I could finally get that right, then I would experience His favor and approval. But my today could never measure up to the destiny He had called me to. I've heard this called destination disease. It is a fixation upon the future causing a loss of real living in the present. Eternal life is not