John Calvin:
Suffering
Chapter 6 - Waiting for God
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Patience springs from faith
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 - 3We ought always to
thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more
and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in
all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
- Calvin says that faith and
patience are exceptional virtues in those that suffer. Patience is the fruit
and evidence of faith. (One then may conclude - - if I have no patience, then I
have no faith)
- There is nothing that sustains us in tribulation
as faith does; hence, the more proficiency anyone makes in faith, the more he
will be endued with patience for enduring all things.
- From David - - Psalm 40:1-2 - - 1 I waited
patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of
the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a
firm place to stand.
- It is God's will to try our patience in this
life by afflictions of various kinds.
- We must guard against despondency - - David
waited patiently, and as a result, the Lord turned and heard....
- James 1:2-3 - 2Consider it pure joy, my
brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the
testing of your faith develops perseverance.
- If God were not to test us,
there would be no patience.
- Paul (Romans 5:3) and James says that
tribulation is the means by which patience is produced.
Satan
takes advantage of our impatience
- Unfortunately, we know that faith is likely to
weaken in times of adversity.
- Even David said in Psalm 31:9 - 9 Be merciful to
me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my
body with grief (the Greek word for grief is kaas - or anger).
- Satan is not troublesome to the
indifferent and careless and seldom looks near them, but to the patient
individual, satan displays all his forces of hostility.
- Hebrews 10:32-39 - - 32Remember those earlier
days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great
contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to
insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who
were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted
the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had
better and lasting possessions. 35So do not throw away your confidence; it will
be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when
you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
37For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will
not delay. 38But my righteous one will live by
faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."
39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who
believe and are saved.
- Patience is necessary, not just because we have
to endure to the end, but because of the schemes of the devil (Eph 6:12)
- This endurance requires exercise of patience,
faith, prayer and continuance in the way of righteousness
Patience is not just putting up with things
- Suffering in silence is not necessarily
patience. You can suffer without hope but true patience can be sustained only
if you hope that things will get better.
- Psalm 94:12-13 - 12 Blessed is the man you
discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; 13 you grant him relief
from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
- One mark by which God
distinguishes the true from the false disciple is that of being prepared to
bear the cross and of waiting quietly for the divine deliverance without giving
way to impatience.
- True patience is not an obstinant resistance to
evil or an unyielding stubborness but a cheerful submission to God, based upon
confidence in His grace.
- A truly patient sufferer hurts and is not too
proud to admit it; but feeling pain and shedding tears he or she takes it to
the Lord in prayer.
The
enabling power of God's grace
- If we find it hard to pray and affirm the
goodness of God, we need the prayers of a pastor or a friend for consolation
and srength.
- And we may do this for others, like Paul -
Colossians 1:10-11 - 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life
worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good
work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might so that you may have
great endurance and patience...
- The man is blessed who has
learned to be composed and tranquil under trials. The rest, during
trials, enjoyed by the believer, is the inward kind. The truly happy man has so
far profited from the Word of God as to sustain the assault of the evils from
without, with peace and composure.
- Psalm 94:12-13 - 12 Blessed is the man you
discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; 13 you grant him relief
from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
- Psalm 130:5-6 - 5 I wait
for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 My soul
waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen
wait for the morning.
- Patiently and prayerfully
waiting for God is the rule of life
The
prophets as an example of suffering and patience
- James 5:10 - 10Brothers, as an example of
patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of
the Lord.
- Calvin notes the example and pattern of the
prophets -- but he adds - - the prophets were blessed in
their afflictions, for they courageously endured them - - and James is
saying to us - - will the same judgment be formed for us in the midst fo our
own trials?
Peace
and joy - the rewards of patience
- Psalm 116:7 - - 7 Be at rest once more, O my
soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
- Calvin states - If the faithful
regain their peace of mind only when God manifests himself as their Deliverer,
what room is there for the exercise of faith? Assuredly, to wait calmly and
silently for God's favour is the undoubted evidence of faith.
- Philippians 4:7 - 7And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus
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