Friday: But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient. 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT) Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NLT) Reflection: It’s one thing to have perseverance in the big time troubles that often rear their ugly heads and threaten to destroy us. But what about the ordinary stuff that life is often made of? How easy is it for you to persevere when you’re not really being threatened by anything other than boredom? Have you ever felt like you truly understood how God must feel about time when Peter said that… a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. Ever been there? You’ve probably been both places- where your days feel like they’ll never end and where you wonder where your days went. Perseverance is just as important during these times in our lives as it is when we are going through life shattering troubles. It is often during the mundane chores of life that our character is strengthened to make us strong enough to stand when the storms come. In the Old Testament there is a story about a man named Naaman. He was a general in the Assyrian army. He was very successful but he had a big problem- he had leprosy. One of his slaves was an Israelite and she told Naaman about a prophet in Israel who could cure leprosy. So Naaman got a personal letter from the king of Assyria (the most powerful person on the face of the earth at the time) instructing the king of Israel to take care of Naaman and give him whatever he needed. When the king of Israel got the letter he freaked out, because he had no control over Elisha, the prophet of God. He sent Naaman to see Elisha and I’m sure prayed that God would heal him and that Elisha would be nice. When Naaman got to Elisha’s place he was met by a servant who told Naaman to go dip himself in the Jordan river 7 times and his leprosy would be healed. Naaman was mad! Not only was it an insult that the prophet wouldn’t come out and meet Naaman face to face, but what kind of miracle was it to have him dip in the Jordan river seven times. The Jordan river was muddy and not even as impressive as the rivers in Assyria. I’m sure he expected some big show where Elisha might have come out and prayed a fancy prayer and said some amazing things and gotten a really painful look on his face while he moved his hands all around Naaman until he was healed. Sounds like Naaman was watching a little too much Christian television. Since Elisha decided not to go with the big show and just told him to dip in the Jordan river seven times Naaman decided to take his toys and go home. Lucky for Naaman his friend was there. He told Naaman that if the prophet had asked him to do something heroic to cure his leprosy he would have done it. Why not go ahead and dip in the Jordan and see what happened? So Naaman did. Can you imagine how Naaman must have felt on the trip to the river? Can you imagine how he must have felt as he walked down into the river by himself with everyone watching him? Can you imagine how he must have felt after dip number six (with everyone still watching him) when he was still covered with leprosy? What would you have done? How would you have felt if you were in Naaman’s place? You are in Naaman’s place every day of your life. God has made some unbelievable promises to you that you are banking on, not because you know those promises are true but because you believe they’re true. Your faith is coloring the way you live (at least it’s supposed to). Biblical belief is not just “believing” that Jesus is the Son of God. It’s believing He’s the Son of God and then letting that change who you are every day of your life. When you patiently endure the ordinary chores of your life because you believe, you are exhibiting perseverance. You see, perseverance isn’t always about facing down lions or standing up to giants- sometimes it’s simply being patient with your kids or your spouse even when they so obviously don’t deserve it. Sometimes it’s continuing to do what God has asked you to do even when it looks like He’s slow on providing you with what He’s promised to provide. You see, when our need meets the place where God’s provision hasn’t yet arrived, temptation rears it’s ugly head. The temptation to take care of what God is obviously too slow to provide. The temptation to provide for ourselves what we think we need. But when we get ahead of God and try to take care of things on our own, nothing but trouble results. We short circuit our quest for enlightenment. The opposite is true as well- when we patiently persevere in the context of our every day, ordinary lives, God’s blessing is what we receive. That’s what happened to Naaman. On the seventh dip he was rewarded for doing everything that God had asked of him. When he came up out of the Jordan river after dip number seven he was healed of the leprosy that had plagued his life. But he was only healed because he persevered. I imagine after dips number four, five and six with no sign of a change he was tempted to stop following God’s instructions, but he didn’t stop- he persevered. And that’s what God wants from you. Not just a perseverance that manifests itself in heroic acts of bravery, but a perseverance that demonstrates itself in a quiet faith that changes your life. And that’s what biblical belief is- something that changes how you live. Prayer: Father, teach me to persevere even when I’m bored, & open my eyes to how to I live my life with you every day, every hour, every minute. Make me more like Naaman when I want to quit and show me what my next step is. What do you want me to do today? Give me the strength to do whatever it is. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:00:00 +0000
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