Job 1:13-22, PATIENCE vs. restlessness (1)

1)    Definition: Accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

a)    In the New Testament there are two Greek words to note.  One, hupomone, has to do with patience with things or situations.  That is the term we are considering here.  The other, makrothumia, has to do with patience with people.  We will consider that at a later time.

b)    “Situations” are events in my life that present me with a choice of handling it right or wrong.  This includes both of what we call “acts of God” (trials, “natural disasters, sickness, persecution for Christ etc.) and “temptations” (being enticed by Satan to sin).

2)    Scripture: Prov. 10:25; 13:1,12,19; 14:30; 17:3; 20:30; 24:21-22; 25:15; Rom. 5:3-5; 15:4-5; Col. 1:11; 3:12; Gal. 5:22; Jas. 1:3-4; 5:7-11; 1 Pt. 3:20; 2 Pt. 3:9.

3)    Underlying Principle: God is sovereign and controls both me and the circumstances of my life (this includes the faithfulness of God as explained in 1 Cor. 10:13).

4)    Illustrations:

a)    1 Sam. 1:18, Hannah who was childless, but cried out to God and He gave her Samuel.

b)    1 Sam. 19-31, David’s patience, waiting for his day to become King of Israel.

5)    Bible Study:

a)    Depending on your English translation there are other words that might be used for “patience”: perseverance, endurance, forbearance and persistence are a few.  How do these passages illustrate “patience?”  Consider how each one illustrates the definition of “patience” given above.

i)      James 5:7: The farmer patiently waits for his crop to ripen. 

ii)   James 5:10: The OT prophets all maintained the promise that God would one day send the Savior.  In addition, they preached against the sin of Israel and were sometimes persecuted for it.  And if not physically persecuted, they were often ignored or ridiculed.  In all these things, they were patient. 

iii)            James 5:11: The classic example of patience in the OT was, of course, Job.  He endured much grief and pain, and the questioning of his “friends,” and then accepted humbly God’s reproof.

iv) Prov. 13:1: Here is a common situation requiring patience … the discipline of a child by his father.  We can add Prov. 3:11-12, quoted in Heb. 12:5-6, that we should not “despise” the chastening of the LORD nor get “discouraged” but should endure it as God’s love for us.