Wednesday

Related Verses
Phil. 1:19-20
19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.

Isa. 50:4-5
4 The Lord Jehovah has given me The tongue of the instructed, That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear To hear as an instructed one.
5 The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn back.

Col. 1:28
28 Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ;

Prov. 25:15
15 By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue can break the bone.

2 Chron. 1:10
10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?

Exo. 33:14
14 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Related Reading
The Greek word for forbearance…means “reasonable, considerate, suitable, and fitting.” A forbearing person is one who always fits in, one whose behavior is always suitable. 

Certain saints are good, but they do not fit in. They may move from place to place, but no matter where they may go, they are not happy. The reason these saints do not fit in is that they are not forbearing. A forbearing person is one who always fits in, whose behavior is always suitable, no matter what the circumstances or environment may be. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 489-490) 

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Forbearance also includes peacefulness, mildness, and gentleness. If you are reasonable, considerate, and able to fit in, you will no doubt be gentle, kind, mild, and peaceful. You will also be meek and moderate, full of compassion for others…The opposite of forbearance is being just in a very exacting way. A person who lacks forbearance will be exacting and demanding of others. But to be forbearing means that we are satisfied with less than our due…For example, a certain thing may be ours, but we do not claim it according to strict, legal right. This is forbearance.

The life of the Lord Jesus is the best illustration of forbearance. Consider how He spoke to those two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Luke 24:15 says that while these disciples “were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” The Lord Jesus said to them, “What are these words which you are exchanging with one another while you are walking?” And “they stood still, looking sad” (v. 17). With a rebuking tone, one of the disciples answered, “Do You alone dwell as a stranger in Jerusalem and not know the things which have taken place in it in these days?” (v. 18). Appearing not to know anything, the Lord asked, “What things?” (v. 19). Then they proceeded to tell Him about Jesus the Nazarene, One they described as a “Prophet powerful in work and word before God and all the people.” They went on to say that the chief priests and the rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death and crucified Him. How forbearing the Lord was to listen to the disciples speak things that He knew much better than they did! After walking quite a distance, “they drew near to the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther” (v. 28). However, “they constrained Him…And He went in to stay with them” (v. 29). The Lord even sat down to dine with them. When He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (v. 31). In all of this we see the Lord’s forbearance. 

Besides the Lord Jesus, no human being has ever practiced a life of such forbearance. If you study the biographies of famous people, you will see that not one was truly a person of forbearance. However, if you read the four Gospels, you will see that the human living of the Lord Jesus was full of forbearance. 

Only the Lord Jesus lived a life full of forbearance, and only Christ can be our perfect forbearance today. The best word to sum up the totality of Christ’s human virtues is forbearance. To make known our forbearance is to live a life that expresses Christ; it is to express the Christ by whom we live. Such a life is Christ Himself as the totality of all human virtues. 

In Philippians 4:5 Paul…says, “The Lord is near.”…He is with us. When we live Him, taking Him as our pattern and counting all things as loss in order to gain Him, we sense that He is present with us. He is near both in space and in time. With respect to space, He is near to us, ready to help; with regard to time, He is at hand, coming soon. Since the Lord is near, what need is there for us to be troubled and stirred up? (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 490-492, 224-225) 

Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 57—58