I remember years ago when my brother and his wife, Kathy, bought their first house. It was an absolute mess – filthy and in need of a great deal of repair. Shortly after moving in Kathy was in tears, overwhelmed by how far the house was from what she wanted it to be.
Her father explained that it would come with time. We don’t get what we want immediately. After twenty years his house was still not exactly as he wanted it.
Psalm 13 begins with a common lament. Psalm 13:1 says, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” By the end of the psalm the writer has a glimmer of hope. What conclusion does the psalmist have in verse 5? What will the psalmist do?
The opening to the psalm can be something we cry out from time to time. Our desires for what is best or what we simply want to have can seem so far away from us. It is difficult to have patience in life.
We want the best job. We want a great home. We want our dreams fulfilled as soon as possible.
The same can be true in our spiritual life. We want answers to our soulful yearnings. We want to understand the workings of God. We want to reach spiritual perfection immediately. But it doesn’t come that quickly.
As faithful followers of Jesus Christ we need patience. In the Greek the word for “patience” under the fruit of the Spirit is Makrothumia (pronounced Meh-kro-thue-mee-yuh). It is a term that was also applied to the steady progression that the Roman Empire exhibited as it grew over hundreds of years to overcome most of the known world. Its meaning is more closely associated with “persistence.” It is an unstoppable, steady approach to things.
As Christians we must exhibit makrothumia in our faith. In spite of how far we may feel we need to go spiritually, we need to continue moving forward, continue moving deeper in our relationship with God. It requires the study of Scripture. It requires persistent and constant prayer. It requires a stout heart to resist the temptations of sin and our own temptations to give up.
No one is perfect, but we should be working toward perfection, improving our souls and our hearts each day. To be in step with the Spirit, to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, we must move forward toward perfection with an attitude of makrothumia – patience, persistence. We must trust in the Lord and know that He is good. And we must trust that we can keep growing, in spite of spiritual failures, to become a more perfect person in God’s grace.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you show God that you trust in Him to help you move forward spiritually?
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