The Alpha of Patience

UV 3108/10000 The Alpha of Patience
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6 v 12
We are warned not to be slothful but labour hard with faith and patience in order to inherit the awesome promises of the Lord. We cannot be complacent or lethargic. We cannot rush headlong into whatever we are doing but we need to take wise decisions with the Holy Spirit as our constant and chief consultant. We need to imitate the large number of witnesses of the Lord and imitate their lives of endurance, patience and hope. We are to cast down any burdens the enemy has stealthily placed on us to tire us down, to sidetrack us from the paths of the Lord.
The best example of apostles who were industrious, persevering, patient and endured all types of suffering and whose life and ministry was full of lasting and good fruit is Paul. This is the reason he exhorted the early church to imitate him even as he imitated Jesus. We need some contemporary models, mentors and examples even as by faith we try to imitate the greatest of all- Christ Jesus Himself and how He endured the shame, pain and horror of the cross without complaining or despairing, knowing that the Lord will lead Him into a glorious resurrection and thereafter to be forever, the Ruler of the entire universe. Scripture clearly states that only the diligent can be rulers while the slothful and impatient will be ruled over. Jesus diligently studied the scriptures and understood the details as well as spirit of the commandments and promises of the Lord under the new covenant even as He was called to establish the new covenant with His life, teachings and sacrificial blood. He spared no effort to fulfil every detail of prophecy concerning Him.
The same patient and compassionate Christ is now with us who believe. He longs to see the fruit of eternal life manifest in our hearts and lives. He is with us for the long haul and not just intermittently. We need to exercise the faith that Abraham exemplified. Abraham was not just eager to enjoy the fulfilment of promises of God but He was also willing to give up in obedience that which he obtained through faith. He gave up the idols and desires of his former life in Ur of Mesopotamia. He lived every day with diligence, patience, faith and hope. Some of the promises he would never obtain while he lived on earth but he knew that he would see it fulfilled historically and eternally. Our patience and faith needs to stretch beyond the temporal, beyond space and time, trusting the Lord to fulfil it in His time, implying in the eternal realm.