Hupomone - say what?

Last time we said that faith tested produces patience

Please read Romans 5:3-4

Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice on the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we glory in afflictions also, knowing that afflictions work out patience, 4 and patience works out experience, and experience works out hope. 5 And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.

In the Bible, patience is not a passive acceptance of whatever circumstances might come our way. The Greek word for patience is hupomone. It comes from the preposition HUPO (under), and MENO (to remain, to abide). It refers to the ability to show evidence of steadfastness and constancy in the face of the most formidable difficulty. This means to courageously persevere in the face of suffering. Further, this means to continue on, despite the circumstances, even when the going is rough. This level of excellence of steadfastness can come only through experiencing trials.

Having this understanding about what trials can accomplish helps us to have a joyful attitude toward these trials. But to really benefit from our trials, we must also obey the third imperative found in verse four.

“Let patience have its perfect work” (1:4)

To truly turn our trials into triumphs, we must let patience finish the job. Patience must be allowed to have its perfect work. Too often, we want to get our trials or difficulties over with quickly. Okay, maybe you don’t, but I sometimes do. But there are times when the best course of action is to bear up under the trial patiently. Hang on. Instead of grumbling and complaining, patiently endure the trial, doing good despite the trial. Oh, and it’s not patience if everyone around you knows you are being patient.

When patience has had the opportunity to work, it produces perfection. The word perfection does not mean sinlessness. It means completeness, wholeness, and maturity. In the New Testament, the word is used of those saints that have grown to spiritual adulthood in Christ and have reached full maturity and understanding in spiritual matters and also are no longer babes and immature persons in Christ. Yes, that’s a load. Maturity like this comes only when patience has had time to work.

Think about an endurance runner in his or her training. To be a mature runner requires letting patience do its work. That is patiently running mile after mile in training. If we want to run the race well spiritually speaking, we need to develop patience. This patience is going to come only through a form of spiritual “resistance training.” This means that we need the trials in which our faith is put to the test!

Letting patience have its perfect work is not easy. It certainly requires wisdom, which enables us to see the value of our trials.

This brings us to the fourth imperative necessary to turn trials into triumph, found in verses five to eight. We’ll write more on that later.