Endurance, Encouragement, and the Mind of Christ
By Dean Collins
Somehow, in decades of reading the Bible I missed this verse. I have read this passage maybe a hundred times, yet until today I had never made the connection that Paul made between the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement that the scriptures provide working together to develop the same attitude and mind of Christ.
I suspect that we often read scripture to find encouragement as we face the challenges of life. We want to hear verses that lighten the load. This may also be why we are often attracted to positive psychology and positive self-help messages. Life is filled with difficulties, and we long for encouragement in our work, in our relationships, and with all of daily life.
There are many passages in scripture that give us reasons for hope. I suspect you are familiar with many of them.
“Those who wait (hope) in the Lord will renew their strength…” Isaiah 40:31
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait (hope) for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7
And of course, our greatest hope is in the resurrection!
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
But notice what Paul says in Romans 15:4 and following: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Did you catch the process described? While hope is an outcome and a state we can abide in, we do not get to hope unless we are taught to develop endurance.
Usually, we think of endurance as simply the agony of waiting, and all of us have experienced seasons of waiting. Waiting for the diagnosis. Waiting for the prognosis. Waiting for the treatment. Waiting for the job offer. Waiting for the birth of a child or grandchild. Waiting for our family member to return from their military assignment. Waiting for the loan to be approved. Waiting for our loved ones to come to faith or return to their faith. We do a lot of waiting.
According to Paul, our waiting is not just waiting. Our waiting is a teacher. Our waiting increases our endurance. Our waiting grows our confidence in the promises of God. And ultimately our waiting brings encouragement and hope. But Paul indicates that our waiting also does more. As we spend time in the scriptures and learn from God’s word, we find endurance, encouragement, and hope. But ultimately, we begin to develop the “same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had” for us!
Imagine what happens in us, in our families, in our churches, in our communities, and in our world as we develop the attitudes of Jesus! I am pretty sure that if we develop the mind and attitude of Jesus, it will produce the actions or behaviors of Jesus. We will love more. We will serve others more. We will seek peace more. We will fight with each other less. We will have less anxiety. We will be the people God created us to be! And we will learn that our suffering and waiting not only transforms us into our full stature in Christ, but it will lead us to glorify God and bring us to the gates of eternity, where we will see Jesus face-to-face.
Verse 13 says it all better than I can:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Father, today we want to be taught by you. Teach us from your word so that we might find endurance, encouragement, and hope so that we might develop the mind of our Savior. Fill us with your Spirit that we might love and serve others in the name of Christ today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Romans 15:4-9, 12-13 NIV
Photo by berenice martinez on Unsplash
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
