May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6
I want to remind you today of an essential nature of God’s character, He is the God of endurance. We are told God is longsuffering, not willing for any to perish and so He works in us to establish and strengthen us unto this position of being immoveable and always rejoicing.
I don’t know about your world, but I’m finding a daily need for endurance and encouragement, a strengthening of spirit that can stand, in this day. I’m mindful that the Lord has always been at work preparing His church for His return and that we are not facing anything in our days the early church did not face; or His church universal does not experience daily. North American culture has been insulated from much of the persecution and affliction the rest of the world endures, yet this has still been a season for many throughout North America to experience differing forms of hardness. In the church, it tends to bring confusion, unrest, division instead of what it should bring, the manifold wisdom of God revealed, establishing a people prepared.
We live in days that demand great endurance within the body of Christ. We see from the following notes from the Discovery Bible Word Helps the scriptures associated with the word always include the persecution pressing the need for endurance.
5281 hypomonē (from 5259/hypó, "under" and 3306/ménō, "remain, endure") – properly, remaining under, i.e. endurance; steadfastness, especially of God enabling believers to "remain (endure) under" the challenges He allots for them.
For the believer, 5281 (hypomonē) is "Christ-empowered endurance" which enables them to get from "God's point A" to "God's point B." This only happens by the direction and strength the Lord provides through His inbirthing of faith (4102/pístis, “inbirthed-persuasion").
Examples
2 Thes 1:4: "Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance (5281/hypomonē) and faith (4102/pístis) in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure" (NASB).
Heb 12:1,2: "1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance (5281/hypomonē) the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (4102/pístis), who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (NASB).
Js 1:3: "Knowing that the testing of your faith (4102/pístis) produces endurance (5281/hypomonē)" (NASB).
Key quotes : C. Ellicott (at 1 Thes 1:3), "5281 (hypomonē) is the brave patience with which the Christian contends against the various hindrances, persecutions, and temptations that befall him in his conflict with the inward and outward world.”
Not only do we learn God as the God of endurance but He is the God of encouragement as well. This word so shows us the fullness of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. What is there, truly, that we have not been given to overcome all hardships encountered?
Again from the Helps Word Studies we find encouragement defined ~
3874/paraklēsis ("holy urging") is used of the Lord directly motivating and inspiring believers to carry out His plan, delivering His particular message to someone. The core-meaning of 3874/paráklēsis ("personal urging") is shaped by the individual context, so it can refer to: exhortation, warning, encouragement (comfort), etc.
This is the same word we find at the beginning of chapter fifteen of Romans, verse 4 ~
“Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragment of the Scriptures we might have hope”…..
All endurance and encouragement made possible because HE IS the God of endurance and encouragment. OUR UNION WITH HIM giving to us all we do need to live in this harmony with Him and one another. Romans chapter fifteen continues with the scripture that reminds us He is also the God of Hope who fills us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to abound in Hope.
Please note our last thought here, this is all to be found in “accord with Christ Jesus”. Jesus is the standard everything must measures up to. All things ultimately gathered unto Him, to be found in Him, so that He is the fullness of all things. If it isn’t Jesus, it isn’t right.
May we find our place of peaceful harmony with Him that provides us the ability to endure and be encouraged bringing glory to God our Father.