For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
— Hebrews 10:36

People often throw in the towel and quit when they don’t see results as quickly as they want. I am amazed at how short-lived some people’s faith really is. If their prayers for healing aren’t answered immediately, they allow their flesh to convince them, for example, that it is God’s will for them to be sick. Or if they sow their finances and believe for a financial harvest but don’t see that harvest in a matter of months, they are tempted to think that everything they have been taught concerning prosperity must be a lie. The problem is that these Christians want quick “microwave answers” to problems that probably took some time to develop. They need to give their faith time to work!

Most people quit before their faith has time to fully work. These folks need a good dose of patience to go along with their faith! You see, faith and patience are partners. You need both to receive the promises of God. Hebrews 10:36 says, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

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The word “patience” comes from the word hupomene, which is a compound of the words hupo and meno. The word hupo at the beginning means under, and meno means to stay or to remain. When you put these two words together, the Greek word means endurance or to stay under. It is the picture of a person who is under a heavy load but has resolved that to stay put in that one spot, regardless of how hard or heavy that load gets.

This person is thoroughly committed to maintaining his position. He will stay in that spot as long as it’s necessary for him to achieve victory. He is intent on standing by his commitment, regardless of the cost he must pay. Nothing can sway or move him to change his mind. He is not going to relinquish his territory! I call this “bulldog faith.” It is a faith that manifests as a tough, resistant, persistent, obstinate, stubborn, tenacious spirit that refuses to let go of what it wants or believes.

If you haven’t done well in the past at standing firm in your faith against the pressure of the enemy, don’t feel condemned. Just receive this as an encouragement from the Lord to get back up and go for it again! To experience a breakthrough regarding a difficult situation or trap that you’ve struggled with for too long, you must take a bold stance of faith and then stand still.

Yes, it may take time for your answer to manifest. Just because your request is in accordance with God’s will, the answer doesn’t always quickly come to pass without a hitch. There’s a devil out there that doesn’t want you to experience God’s will for your life. You also have your own flesh to deal with, and flesh loves comfort — it does not like a challenge. Your faith may need to grow. God wants you to come to a higher level in the process of receiving the answer to your prayer. You need to renew your mind so you can “…ask in faith, nothing wavering…” (James 1:6).

Faith has focused desire. It knows what it wants. It doesn’t vacillate. It never moves. Faith stands still in one spot. So make your bold confession of faith: “God, this is what I want. This is Your revealed will for my life, and I’m not moving until I receive the fulfillment of it!” You must have this type of patience if you intend to beat the devil at his game and successfully do what God has called you to do. Endurance is absolutely essential if you intend to stay in the fight until your enemies are under your feet and you emerge victorious.

Believe me, friend, when this kind of patience is working in your life, it’s not a matter of if you’ll win — it’s just a matter of when you will win. So keep your arms of faith wrapped around that promise, dig in your heels, and refuse to be moved!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I repent for each time I have fallen short of Your promises simply because I gave up before my faith had time to fully work. I neglected to feed my faith on the Word of God. As a result, I began to give place to the fleshly tendency to become impatient when what I really needed to do was to persevere in faith and be strong. I receive Your forgiveness and cleansing, and I ask You to strengthen me with might in my inner man so I can let patience have its perfect work in me.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I let patience have its perfect work in me (James 1:4). Through faith and patience, I inherit the promises of God for my life. Having done all to stand, I stand with bulldog faith and tenacity, committed to seeing the will of God for my life fulfilled!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!