Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Need of patience. It's safe to say that we could all use a bit more patience. Okay, maybe not all of us, but most of us. It's a rare thing to ever hear of someone have too much patience. The impatient would readily say such a thing about those who have patience though, wouldn't they? Do you know anyone with a lot of patience? I do. My mother is a very patient woman. Do I have the same patience as she does, unfortunately no. I really have need of patience in all things.
As Christians we need to really cultivate patience because without it we are a lot less likely to hold on to our faith and without faith we are lost and guaranteed to not receive the promise.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
Run with patience; in your patience possess ye your souls.
The Christian walk isn't one that can be started and finished in a single day. It's a LIFE time walk, it's a walk we keep walking and if we are blessed enough to be alive when Christ comes we will continue that walk, that race, that run into eternity. If we are called to sleep before Christ comes, when we wake by the grace of our Savior it will be to enter right into the race heading to the finish line where we will live forever and ever with God, forever in love, His perfect, perfect love.
Is it any wonder we read this… IN YOUR PATIENCE POSSESS YE YOUR SOULS. Our life, our eternal life is in Christ and having patience through our lives for however many days, years, it might be, that we will have our reward in Christ, through Christ.
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Hab 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
In the scheme of eternity the entire 6000 some years of this world's existence is nothing….nothing. When you're faced with eternity-- years are nothing. When we measure our lives without eternity they can seem long. If you only have 72 years promised you then when you're young- say 20, that 72 years seems like a lot of years. When you're 65 years that 72 years seem like nothing. To say someone has lived to 100 years old is saying WOW that's a long, long life, and for us, it is. When we measure our time with 100 year spans, or 70 year spans as being long we break it down and our days can seem long, our weeks, our years, but in reality when we live in eternity- time here and now is NOTHING.
Is it any wonder we are told to have patience now as we wait for eternity? Is it any wonder it's necessary to have patience? We really need to tell ourselves as life gets us down and our problems seem to be long and drawn out… this is nothing compared to eternity, this will pass, eternity is without end. Any pain and yes, pain can vary from minor to excruciating, any pain will have it's end as we live for eternity. Heartaches, tears, agonies…they are all fleeting in eternity. No, I'm not trying to minimize anyone's pain or problems at all whatsoever, but to have the patience we need to possess our souls we have to look beyond our temporary existence. We have to- by the grace of our Savior- cultivate patience fit for eternity.
One more point...
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
AFTER ye have done the WILL OF GOD. It's the will of God that we all be saved, that we all accept salvation through our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ. After we understand this, after we lay hold of our Savior's gift of salvation we have to have patience, we have to continue on after that acceptance.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord now and forever!
Amen.
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