But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love. You know I never give up. [2 Timothy 3:10 (NCV)]
After Israel accepted the Lord’s Covenant, Moses returned to the base of Mt. Sinai with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. It was then that every one of those men gazed upon the God of Israel from afar and ate a covenant meal in His presence. Before Moses departed to climb up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, he entrusted the Israelites to Aaron and the elders who then went back to their camp. Moses, accompanied by his servant/apprentice Joshua, climbed a short way up the mountain and a cloud covered it. The two men made camp and stayed there for the next six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses from within the cloud and the Israelites’ leader disappeared into the mist.
By this time, Israel had seen the waters of the Red Sea part and Pharaoh’s army drown, watched as bitter water turned sweet, received manna from heaven and water from a rock, and experienced victory over the Amalekites. Israel saw the glory of the Lord like a consuming fire on Mt. Sinai’s summit and, during the Covenant ceremony, they all promised, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” Seventy-three of the elders saw the God of Israel and ate a meal with Him! Yet, despite the miracles they’d experienced, Israel lost faith and grew impatient during their leader’s forty-day absence. Fearful that Moses was lost and wanting to set their own time line for getting to the Promised Land, they decided to fashion another god to lead them. After doing so, they celebrated with a pagan feast. When God saw their disobedience and corruption, he sent Moses back down the mountain.
While we know that Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai communing with God, there is no mention of Joshua’s whereabouts or activities during those next thirty-three days. We can only assume that, after watching Moses disappear in the mist, Joshua patiently remained there until Moses’ return. If I’d seen someone vanish into the fog, I’m not sure I would have lasted four days alone in the cloud-covered wilderness but Joshua lasted more than four weeks! As the days wore on, did he worry that Moses may have been eaten by lions or consumed by what appeared to be fire? Did he wonder how long he should wait before giving up? Waiting alone in the wilderness, did he fear for his own safety? Think of the patience and faith it took for the young man to remain there day after day waiting for Moses’ return.
We think of Joshua as a scout, military strategist, and leader but do we ever think of him as a man of patience and faith? Yet, the same man who waited day after day alone in the wilderness had to wait an extra thirty-eight years before setting foot in Canaan! His faith and patience, however, were rewarded when he arrived in the Promised Land.
Faith and patience go hand in hand. If we have patience, we won’t lose faith in God’s plan and timing as did the Israelites. And, if we have faith, we can be patient, even when things take longer than expected, as they did for Joshua.
The principle part of faith is patience. [George Macdonald]
Jeremiah 29 consists of two letters written by the prophet to the exiles in Babylon. The first (29:1-28) was sent to the recently deported elders, priests, and prophets as well as to King Jehoiachin, his mother, and the officials, craftsmen, and artisans who’d been taken as Nebuchadnezzar’s captives several years earlier. Countering the message of the false prophets promising a quick return to Jerusalem from Babylon, Jeremiah bluntly told the exiles that Israel’s captivity would last seventy years. This was unwelcome news and, preferring to believe comforting lies rather than the painful truth, people accused Jeremiah of being crazy and a false prophet. The second letter in this chapter addresses one of his accusers.
“How was work today?” asked the wife in the Born Loser comic strip (drawn by Chip Sansom). Her husband answered, “Horrendous!” adding, “It feels so good that it’s over, I’m almost glad it happened!” Having had times when my prayer was simply, “Lord, just get me through this!” I understand. Sometimes, life seems so challenging and exhausting that we’re willing to settle for merely getting through it. That, dear friend, is setting the bar far too low. God has better plans for us than just getting by and none of us are born losers.
During that dark time about which I recently wrote, I was in intense pain and it seemed like God had turned His back on me. When I confided to a friend that God seemed deaf to my pleas, she asked the simple question, “Have you turned it over to the Lord?” I assured her I had but, as the day wore on, I wondered if that were true.
Things went downhill for Israel in the centuries following their arrival in Egypt. Life turned bad when Pharaoh’s once welcome guests became Pharaoh’s oppressed slaves who labored in his fields or made bricks for his building projects. Hearing their cry for relief, God called Moses to lead His children out of captivity. Although He warned Moses that Pharaoh would not let his labor force depart easily, God didn’t tell him that Israel’s life would go from bad to worse before they left Egypt.
Jesus told two parables about persistence. In the first, a man went to his neighbor’s home at midnight. Waking him, he asked for three loaves of bread because a traveler just arrived and he had no food for his hungry guest. Initially, the neighbor refused to open the door but, after tiring of the man’s persistent knocking, he finally gave him the bread. In the second parable, a widow kept badgering a corrupt judge with her appeals for justice against a man who has harmed her. Finally, worn down by her persistent pleas, the exasperated judge granted her request.
Devotions of the Heart 