"Be... patient in affliction"
'All we need is just a little patience'.
So sung Axl Rose in the 1990s Guns 'N' Roses acoustic megahit. They were not a band that was renowned for its patience. Their regular hard rock songs were expletive-ridden tales of drinking, drug taking, violence and misbehaving with ladies of the night. They had one album cover banned for its depiction of a disgusting act. Their drummer was arrested and thrown out of the band for a horrific crime against a woman. Their antics were legendary in the hard rock circuit.
And yet in the middle of all that immoral mess, they penned a tender acoustic ballad imploring a lover to show a little patience, to hang on because they had 'what it took to make it'.
It might take the patience of a saint to put up with that kind of behaviour.
But the patience in this verse is more than that.
What does patience mean to you?
Perhaps waiting for someone in the park on a summer's day, licking an ice cream and people watching through your sunglasses?
That is not the Biblical version of patience.
Maybe it's waiting calmly and serenely, untroubled by anything, until a situation improves.
This is not that kind of patience.
The patience described in this verse is a word that has two meanings. As well as 'to wait or tarry behind', it also means 'to persevere, to endure bravely and calmly'.
This is not just waiting. No, this is active patience. This is patience with muscles. This is also assured patience. This is patience that knows it will win.
In fact, a literal translation of this verse could be: "In affliction, to persevere through".
Do you see it? Patience means that you are willing to go through the tunnel to see the light on the other side. Patience means that we are willing to submit to affliction, bear down in it and trust the Lord to bring us through it when the time is right.
But how can we do that? How can we persevere through our afflictions when they seem so great? Let me guide you through a few core Biblical truths that can help us:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIVUK
We understand this verse as referring to temptation. However, the Greek word also refers to trials and sufferings, when our faith is put to the test and we are tempted to give up. There are four helpful truths here:
* You are not alone. Your sufferings are not unique. Others around the world are suffering just like you.
* You are not helpless. God is faithful. He is with you. He has not abandoned you. He will not abandon you.
* Your situation is not out of control. God is sovereign and He is faithful. He is watching to ensure that you are not stretched beyond your capacity to cope. It might not seem like it at times. It might seem like you are at breaking point. A world without God has no hope here. There is no-one pulling the levers. It's all blind chance. And if your troubles break you, well, that's tough. Life is survival of the fittest and you were not fit enough. But with God that is not true. The One who holds your life in His hands cares for you and, as Lamentations tells us, it does not bring Him delight to stretch His children in this way (Lamentations 3:33). He only does it when there is no other way. And He will not allow you to be stretched more than you can bear.
* Your situation will end. It will not last forever. It might seem like it at times. You might be without hope. But the Lord will one day rescue you from it.
As Peter explains:
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:6-7 NIVUK
And Paul:
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NIVUK
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NIVUK
But, you see, there is a further lesson to learn:
* Your situation is not purposeless. As the writer to the Hebrews explains to a deeply persecuted church:
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:32-36 NIVUK
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined – and everyone undergoes discipline – then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:7-11 NIVUK
We might not understand it. We might not perceive it. We might not even see how it is possible. But the Bible tells us that the Lord has a purpose in our sufferings and it can make us stronger and better. The Bible tells us that God works for our good in all situations (Romans 8:28). That includes the situation that is afflicting us right now.
Strength in adversity and the ability to endure does not come from marching and waving placards - and absolutely not from threats and storming buildings. No, it comes from trusting God, believing God, hoping in God. As Peter says:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NIVUK
Others might shout and yell and talk of rebellion. That is not our way. We are patient and endure through affliction by trusting in our God to not test us more than we can bear, to make us strong enough to bear it, and to bring us through it. And we know, deep down in our souls, that it will be worth it. That not one tear will be wasted.
So we've seen what means to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction. Now we'll move on to see what it means to be FAITHFUL IN PRAYER.
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