Precious Moments That Count For EternitySample

Patient Hope Faith, love, and hope are the three great Christian virtues (1 Thessalonians 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith works, love labors and hope is patient. Is that all that ‘hope’ is? It has a narrow meaning in modern English; but that was not what Paul meant. He meant a great deal more than just passive endurance. Patience translates as ‘endurance of hope’; the persevering stamina of trials, which flows from hope. Romans 15:4 shows that patience nourishes hope. It is something to be able to say, in the midst of a brutal storm, ‘Pour on! I will endure.’ It is to be able, in spite of all, not to be disheartened, but still bear up and steer right onward. That is the true meaning of the word ‘patience’ in the New Testament. The only person, who is a living example before me of this, is my brave and righteous mother. She has been waiting for my brother’s healing for nearly 20 years. All that keeps her going is hope, not just the expectation of something good that will happen, but ‘patient hope’, continually enduring and simultaneously holding on with endless stamina. What would I do, or what would my mother do, if we didn’t have Jesus and His Word with us today? Jesus Christ described this situation in Matthew 6 when He commanded us not to worry about our lives; what we will eat, what we will drink and what we will wear, for after all these things, the Gentiles (non-believers) seek. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:31-33). Now this is what I call ‘glorious hope’! Prayer Lord, this day, help me on the path of long enduring hope. Let my hope in You be my immune system, helping me battle every bacteria, virus and parasite. Amen.