Daily Work.

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Do you do this? Are you ever aware of the Holy Spirit’s advice to you as you meet people throughout your day? Do you listen to Him? How patient are you with people in general now? Is the Holy Spirit teaching you about μακροθυμία / (mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah) / the word that is translated into English as …patience. It’s much deeper than our current cultural understanding of patience. Better words might translate this word as forbearance, or fortitude, or even better … long suffering in a situation of no fault of your own. This IS the divine fruit of the Holy Spirit, and we can’t really do it without Him. So, we are to be utilizing this fruit of ‘patience’ with ALL people around us. Not an easy request as it requires a constant connection and ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit.

The word ‘idle’ here in Greek is ἄτακτος / (at’-ak-tos) and strictly translated as ‘unruly’. We are to admonish the unruly. Admonish here is the Greek word νουθετέω / (noo-thet-eh’-o) which by implication means to caution, warn, or reprove gently. Do you ever get instructions from the Holy Spirit on how to warn someone? Could He even trust you to do that? I think most of us are in our ‘flesh’ too much when we are irritated by someone that we don’t check with the Holy Spirit in those situations. This ‘admonishment’ needs to be done through the fruit of gentleness and meekness of the Holy Spirit. Again, we are just the branches HE is the Vine. Are we still trying to do this on our own?

Who are the ‘fainthearted’? The Greek word here is ὀλιγόψυχος / (ol-ig-op’-soo-khos) also means… little-spirited. Properly, this is an undeveloped soul, lacking in personhood (without a healthy identity, developed individuality). This condition describes a believer who has become “small-souled,” easily discouraged, or inwardly shrinking. Although the term appears only once in the Greek New Testament in this verse, the condition it names is addressed repeatedly throughout Scripture. The fainthearted are neither rebellious nor faithless; they are weary saints who need comfort, courage, and patient care from the body of Christ.

And who are the ‘weak’? Here the word is ἀσθενής / (as-then-ace’). Here the Greek word gathers a family of forms built on the root idea of “weakness,” whether physical, moral, social, or spiritual. The term shades from literal bodily infirmity to figurative inability, so that every appearance accents human dependence on divine grace.  Our fallen humanity is weak. Paul triumphantly declares “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) We all need His love, grace, and joy to even make it in this Christian life of His.

So, are you tapped into the Vine today? Is He giving you life and instructions about the fruit He wants to produce with and through you today? This is our daily discipline. We are to be ‘practicing’ the lessons daily He has given to us. It is through this daily – small baby steps – work and practice that we learn and grow through Him. Are you ready to engage this day with Him in the lead? Or are you still trying to lead Him? Are you His companion? Or are you thinking He is your companion? Who’s in the driver’s seat today of your life?