Monday, June 22, 2026

Opening Scripture

We pray that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:10-12

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, you are holy and exalted! May your kingdom come and your will be done in my life, home, and community just as it is in Heaven. Help me to trust you today to meet all of my needs. Help me to forgive others just as you have forgiven me. Help me to resist temptation and overcome the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Reflection  

We are continuing our summer theme of “Making a Difference” by exploring the fruit of the Spirit and learning how to be difference makers. Our focal verse is John 15:8, where Jesus tells his followers, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

This week, we will look at the fourth fruit of the Spirit identified by Paul in his letter to the Galatians: forbearance (aka: patience). Yesterday’s sermon considered the example of Abraham. Since yesterday was Father’s Day, it is appropriate for us to reflect on “The Father of Faith.”

Abraham is viewed as the founder of monotheism and is a hero of three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. History moves very quickly in Genesis 11, covering centuries of genealogies in a few verses, from the descendants of Noah and the Tower of Babel to Terah, the father of Abraham.

Terah decided to move from the Chaldees to Canaan, and he took “Abram,” his wife “Sarai,” and their nephew Lot with him. “Ur of the Chaldeans” is generally considered to be “Mesopotamia” (southern Iraq), north of the Persian Gulf. Terah took his family northwest, through what would become the Babylonian kingdom, to avoid going due west through the Arabian Desert.

When Terah arrived at Haran (near Assyria), he settled there, apparently did quite well, and died at the age of 205. That’s when and where Yahweh appeared to Abram and made a truly amazing offer.

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’

“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there” (Genesis 12:1-5).

In Canaan, the LORD appeared to Abram and told him that He would give that whole land to Abram’s offspring. Abram built an altar to the LORD and kept moving. There was a severe famine in the land, so Abram and his entourage headed to Egypt to find food. NOTE: It’s good to remember that God can use even natural disasters to accomplish His will.

Apparently, Sarai was an exceptionally beautiful 65-year-old, so Abram (afraid Pharoh would kill him to get her) claimed Sarai was his sister. Actually, Sarai was Abram’s half-sister (same father, different mother), but, oh well.

Sure enough, Pharaoh heard about Sarai’s beauty and “invited” her to the palace. As Sarai’s brother, Pharaoh gave Abram “sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.” What famine? Everything was great… until God inflicted a serious disease on Pharaoh and his household, on account of Pharaoh taking another man’s wife into his harem.

Pharaoh summoned Abram to the palace and cried, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Take your stuff and get out of here!” So, Abram took everything he came with, plus everything the Egyptians had given him, and headed back to the Promised Land. This whole episode is a remarkable foreshadowing of the Exodus.

Genesis 13 tells us that Abram had become very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold after “plundering” the Egyptians. Abram’s nephew Lot had also become very wealthy. In fact, they had so many flocks and herds and tents and servants that the land couldn’t support them staying together, so they split up.

Abram let Lot decide where he wanted to live, and the younger man chose the lush, well-watered land to the east (which happened to be near Sodom, pre-destruction). Abram stayed where he was. Yahweh appeared again to Abram and promised that his descendants would possess the land and be as numerous as “the dust of the earth.” Everything was great…until Lot and his household got caught up in a war between rival kings.

Fortunately, when word got to Abram, he came to the rescue. “When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.”

That brings us to Genesis 15. Yahweh appeared to Abram once again and reaffirmed His promise. This time, Abram pointed out that he and Sarai were childless, so the whole “dust of the earth, stars of the sky, too numerous to count” descendants thing was impossible. That night, Abram laid out a sacrifice to God, then fell into a deep sleep. In a dream-like vision, God graciously detailed His plan for Abram’s successors, including the four-hundred-year Egyptian slavery and subsequent Exodus.

The LORD made a covenant with Abram that night to give his descendants the Promised Land, and He provided specific boundaries. “Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

Of course, God did fulfill His promise (after Abram and Sarai had taken matters into their own hands with Hagar). God answered Abraham’s question: “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” Yes! Ishmael was Abraham’s son, but Isaac was God’s promised provision.

And we know that Abraham’s faith was later tested with Isaac. What incredible devotion to Yahweh Abraham demonstrated when he told Isaac on the mountain of sacrifice, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8). And He did!

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christian

Father Abraham is a powerful example of forbearance. He waited twenty-five years for God to provide the son He promised, and that child was the key to all of God’s other promises to Abraham.

“Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.’” (Genesis 17:3-8).

The Greek word “makrothymia” can be translated forbearance, patience, or long-suffering. It implies a willingness to wait; “avoiding the premature use of force.” Patience doesn’t rush to action or anger. It has a long fuse. There is an active endurance and deliberate perseverance to patience – less exasperation and more expectation.

Makrothymia describes a God-centered restraint that endures provocation without surrendering to resentment or retaliation. Rather than mere passivity, it is a purposeful waiting that preserves righteousness and seeks the good of others.

Makrothymia appears fourteen times in the New Testament, spanning God’s own dealings with humanity and the Spirit-empowered “fruit” expected of believers.

How is the fruit of forbearance in your life?

Are there some things for which you are having to wait patiently and trust God?

Ask Him to help you do that, for your good and His glory.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!