Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 09/01/2024
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Patience is a Virtue
“For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Heb. 10:36
The title phrase is loosely attributed to an unknown author from the third or fourth century. The Distichs of Cato is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality. Known simply as “The Cato” it was the most popular medieval schoolbook for teaching Latin, and morality. Ben Franklin most likely studied Cato at Boston Latin School. The quote attributed to Cato also finds its way into Chausere’s (1343-1400) The Canterbury Tales
It’s likely that everyone in all of Christendom is waiting upon God for something at any given time. God lives outside of time and though He is meticulous with His execution of events, He’s never the least bit anxious about the ticking of the clock as we are. Because of this He calls out patience as a virtue and one of the fruits of the Spirit, from Gal. 5:22 (also translated “longsuffering)
The word “longsuffering” several times refers to God’s disposition toward us therefor establishing it as an aspect of God’s character.
Rom. 9:22, I Tim. 1:16, I Pet. 3:20, II Pet. 3:9, II Pet. 3:15
Jesus uses the word “patience” in an unusual, for Him, proverbial statement in Lk. 21:19, “By your patience possess your soul.”
Also, in “The Parable of the Sower Explained” He says, “But the ones (seeds) that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Lk. 8:15
Anyone involved with agriculture understands patience.
Mk. 4:26,27, “And He said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.”
The seed sprouts by Divine design and we are called to apply trust to that equation.
I believe that it is often valuable, in searching to understand a word, or concept, to examine its opposite; in this case impatience, or, extrapolated from above, lack of trust which manifests as worry.
For instance, between Mt. 6:25 and 34, Jesus does some good preaching about our impulse to worry. In 6:34 He says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Anxiousness might also be considered as contrary to patience. Phl. 4:6,7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The activity, however, that is most destructive, and most commonly attributed to impatience is applying the hand of flesh; in other words, trying to make something happen in our own strength.
This inclination is depicted well in II Sam. 24:1-9, titled “David’s Census of Israel and Judah”. Retold in I Chr. 21, it begins, in verse 1 by saying, “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” In this account, King David is compelled to trust in his own strength, in this case in the strength of his army, instead of trusting in God.
Jack Hayford writes of this, “The issue for David and for Israel had never been how many fighting men there were, Their strength was not in numbers, but in the Lord who went into battle with them.”
Returning to the Sermon on the Mount, Mt. 6:27, Jesus says, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
Anxiousness, worry, distrust, impatience, all tempt us to force a desired end to come about in our own timing.
Consider the tragedy of Judas, of whom it is thought grew impatient with Jesus maneuvers and attempted to hurry things along. He didn’t even get to experience the resurrection, the forty days, the ascension, and all the majesty that occurred afterwards.
Impatience robs us of the prize.
Applying the hand of flesh always precipitates a disastrous result.
The command to “wait upon Him” drives us to know and trust God.
Psa. 37:9, “For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Psa. 59:9, “Because of His strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense.”
Psa. 145:15, “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season.”
Isa. 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength…”
Jer. 14:22, “Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.”
Js. 1:2-3, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
While waiting, it’s more than a good idea to simply enjoy God; consider His character and His ways, His creation, and our given capacity to drink it all in.
Psa. 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
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