When the Holy Spirit said that to me, it altered my view. It answered SO many questions. It sobered my stance. It called to me to SEEK. I must admit I didn’t know what “misnomer” even meant when I heard Him say it, I had to look it up in the dictionary. But what I learned, in all honesty, what men have taught and taken as a past-tense, I don’t need to worry about it, I’m good so I can go on about my life, done deal–frankly, doesn’t line up with the whole of scripture. Please don’t leave–hear me out. God gave me the following scenario, so please read and ponder. Then allow Him to lead you.
“Must Be Present to Win”
How many drawings have you excitedly entered, only to feel deflation when you read, “Must Be Present To Win” on the bottom of the ticket? That one line brings a full understanding: if you want to win, you must stay.
Let’s say it’s 9 am on a Saturday and the drawings are off and on all day. Quickly your mind races: “I have laundry to do, groceries to buy, house to clean, kids to deliver to a birthday party, and friends coming over for dinner at 6…”. The ticket was free, the Prize beyond fantastic, but…you “Must Be Present To Win”–and your life seems way too busy to stay. You begin reasoning possibilities: the “leave and come back multiple times” scenario, the “ask someone else to impersonate you”, “I was in the bathroom and didn’t hear my number” flood your brain. But at the end of your reasoned “excuse list”, you shrug your shoulders in mental defeat, drop the ticket into your pocket, and leave to attend to your harried schedule–never realizing you are holding a winning ticket.
“Say what??! If you had told me I was going to win, I would have stayed!!”.
Really? Would you?
“Hindsight is 20/20”, they always say. And in looking back, you now reason that you could have ordered your groceries online, arranged for relatives to deliver your kids to the party, and ordered dinner “to go” from a local restaurant. And as to housecleaning: your friends aren’t your friends because of how clean your bathroom is…right?
Yet, in the grind of the stay, the heat of the afternoon sun has begun to take its toll, and boredom from walking around the same booths is now waxing dull. You, time, the Prize, and the expectations of others, are now jockeying for first-place in your mind. Even though you know your ticket is a winner, with all you’ve got going on, you’re certain anyone would agree it would be easier to just leave. Then, like a supposed gift from out of the blue, you meet someone with some appearance of involvement and authority that tells you “off the record” that if your number is called, and you’re not present, you will still receive your prize. So with their word, a sigh, and a sunburn, you tuck your ticket into your pocket and head out to attend to your harried life–stubbornly dismissing that gnawing “knowing” that you are acting on the word of a person, rather than to what is clearly written.
Surely their word will stand good with the Prize Judge…right?
Yet that, “What if they’re mistaken?”, thought keeps running through your mind. “What if leaving disqualifies me from claiming the Prize?!” Herein lies your choice: Turn around and stay until your number is drawn? Or knowingly walk away to tend to the issues at hand, trusting that person’s word over what the ticket says? As you continue toward your car, you hear from deep inside: “Please stay. Trust Me, it’s worth the wait!!”
And to the “stayers”:
It’s been a long day. Your ticket is stained with ketchup from the tater twister booth, smudged from accidentally dropping it in the mud by the dog watering station, and faded from washing it in the Fountain. But you’ve stayed, and you’ve kept your ticket. As the evening sun begins to set, you notice that the once large crowd has dwindled to but a few. But you are ready–ticket in hand. And when your number is called, YOU WIN! At that moment, no one can convince you otherwise–it was worth the WAIT!! 🙂
Dear Friends: If you believe in Jesus, you are holding a winning ticket. You don’t have to earn this Ticket, but you must stay. And He’s worth the wait! 🙂
There is a Greek word found in the New Testament that speaks to that effect: Hupomeno. Here is the definition from the Strong’s Concordance:
Hupomeno, G5278: to stay under (behind), i.e. remain; fig. to undergo, i.e. bear (trials), have fortitude , persevere:–abide, endure, (take) patient(-ly), suffer, tarry behind.
And here are some scriptures in which “hupomeno” appears:
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13
“And ye shall be hated of all for My Name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Mark 13:13
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.” James 1:12
Hupomeno Fellow-Believing ticket-holders, HUPOMENO!
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
This entire chapter in Isaiah is fantastic! The word “Wait” (H6960 in the Strong’s Concordance) in this verse means “to bind together (twist), to expect, look, wait”.
AND
“But Christ as a Son over His Own house; Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Hebrews 3:6
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience*, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:35-36
(*G5281 hupomone: cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy, patient continuance. Strong’s Concordance)
HOLD ON to that Ticket folks! It’s a WINNER!! 🙂
With love and ticket in hand,
Sheila
Additional “worthy of your time” reads with “hupomeno” in them (please take the time to read in context, at least the full chapter–if not the whole book): Romans 12 (v12), Matthew 10 (v22), 1 Corinthians 13 (v7), 2 Timothy 2 (v10,12), Hebrews 10 (v32) and Hebrews 12 (v2, 3, 7), James 5 (v11).
Another word of admonition is found in 2 Timothy 2:4:
“No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the One Who enlisted him as a soldier.”
**It wasn’t until after this post was written, I noticed there were several secular writings with this same title. I am NOT espousing their take. Jesus IS our ONLY Hope, and His indwelling Holy Spirit is our ONLY Strength! Hupomeno in Him ALONE!! 🙂
