Steadfastness (2)

(From devotionals at work)

"...and make every effort to supplement your self-control with steadfastness...." -2 Peter 1:5-6

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. " -Psalm 40:1

Last week we defined steadfastness, or patience. Remember that Peter did not list the characteristics in these verses arbitrarily. Each builds on the other in such a way that the former is the foundation of the next, and the next after provides a vision. With that in mind, let's think about the relationship of self-control and patience.

What happens when we try to practice self-control without patience? Simply put, the struggle against temptation becomes purposeless, because the character that patience produces is not a goal, and our lives become a series of battles with sin, and more often than not, a series of failures. Because the end of patience is hope, without an awareness that God is trying to work patience in us, our struggle as Christians seems hopeless. Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to patience when he said, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...."

What about the reverse? What happens when we attempt to learn patience without first learning self-control? In short, we are trying to fulfill a vision without the proper tools. If we can't overcome short-term, we certainly can't learn to hang on to a vision long-term.

Without a foundation of self-control, the attempt to be patient will cause us to give up in frustration, complain, or try to shortcut the circumstances. Remember that Christ's greatest temptation was to by-pass the will of the Father (which included the cross), and take His legitimate Lordship without suffering.

Next week: godliness.