Writer’s Laziness
I don’t know that I would call it “writer’s block”; it’s more like “writer’s laziness.” You see, I have plenty of things to write about, but very little energy to attack them with the literary fervor each one deserves. Therefore, I am going to cut and paste something from a few years ago into a post for today.
A couple of years ago I told my daughter Katie (the one in college) that I was having a “form of writer’s block.” She asked, “Do you want me to give you a random suggestion?” I said, “sure.”
Two minutes later she comes to me with a picture and a word: hupomenō (ὑπομένω). “Write about this,” she said.
Hupomenō?
The word is a Greek word which means “to remain under,” or, “to remain under the test in a God-honoring manner, not seeking to escape it but eager to learn the lessons it was sent to teach.”*
But it could also mean standing firm by holding one’s ground (Mt 10:22; 24:13; Mk 13:13) and persevering in spite of difficulty (2 Tim 2:10).** The words that hupomenō is most commonly translated into are “patience,” and “endure.”
Katie’s a godly young girl, so she wrote Hupomeno on her hand as a reminder to be patient and to “endure.”
Patiently Enduring
So how are you holding up? How are you enduring? Sometimes that’s all we can do, isn’t it? Sometimes all we can do when the winds are blowing, when the waves are crashing against us, and when the sand is shifting beneath our feet is to just endure the tempest while holding on for dear life to something…or Someone…unmovable and secure.
Whatever you are under right now, don’t give up – honor God with your faithfulness. Whatever you are fighting against, just hold your ground. Whatever road your traveling, even if it seems like it’s never going to end, persevere – don’t give up till you’re home.
“Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4 HCSB
Just hang in there; God is still God.
*Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), Ro 12:9.
**James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
The Recovering Legalist 
Please thank Katie for me….your word is exactly what I need this morning!
In fact, I’m thinking about getting a tattoo, and that word may be just what it becomes!
That’ll make her day 🙂
Love it. Great insight from Katie. Blessings brother.
She done good. Aren’t you glad for such inspiration?
Yep.
You do have godly daughters. Kate is wise beyond her years. This is just what I needed to hear this morning. Thank you so very much for sharing!