What is patience all about? Is it about waiting? Is it about keeping cool – not getting angry or taking offence? To what extent can one be patient? How does one remain patient? Under what circumstances do we need patience?
James encouraged the early Christians to be patient in the context of suffering. He wrote a letter to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad (1:1 NASB). The recipients of his letter were Christians scattered all over – away from their home because of persecutions for their faith. James told them (vv2-4)
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various [c]trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [d]endurance. 4 And let [e]endurance have its perfect [f]result, so that you may be [g]perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
In the footnotes of NASB, trials = temptations, endurance = steadfastness, result = work, perfect = mature
His opening words taught them to be joyful. His closing words encouraged them to be patient. Joyful in trials, patient until the Lord returns.
James 5
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
Until… until WHEN are we to be patient? Until Jesus comes again, we, mortal beings, who are living in this sinful world, in our morally and physically deficient body will continue to face trials of many kinds. HOW then are we to be patient?
The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
* Hopeful waiting for the Lord’s Return: vv.7-8 We can be patient when we wait and expect something positive to come from waiting. When the farmer plants, he expects to reap. He is patient because he knows there is something good coming out of his labor. How long does he wait? UNTIL the early and late rains come. Early rains start the process of growing his seeds. Late rains begin the time of reaping his produce. From early rains to late rains – UNTIL the soil gets the early and late rains – this is a journey. Being patient is a journey of waiting – there is a beginning and an end. A seed planted and a produce harvested.
We are to be patient – we gather strength in our waiting because we know and hope for the near coming of the Lord. Just as the farmer is hopeful for a harvest, we are hopeful for the return of our Lord to end our sufferings on earth. We are waiting expectantly for our reward from passing the test and enduring to the end.
9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
* Peaceful enduring in the Lord’s Character
We can be patient when we are at peace in our knowledge of who our God is.
God’s Justice (v.9)
God is the true Judge. We are patient when we withhold our tongue. We stop whining and complaining about and against each other. We learn to wait on the Lord to judge. He administers true justice. His justice is sure. Behold, He is standing right at the door. Justice is nearer than we think. It is sure to come.
God’s Name (v.10)
How are we to endure? Endure like the prophets of old. How did they endure? They spoke in the name of the Lord. They endured in their calling. They spoke the words of the Lord in the name of the Lord even people did not listen, did not believe, even when people persecuted them.
God’s Compassion (v.11)
Endure like Job. How can we endure like Job? Beyond the outcome of the Lord’s blessings upon Job at the end of his sufferings, beyond the positive rewards of our endurance, we can endure because we believe that the Lord is kind and merciful.
Patience is hopeful waiting. To be patient is to actively endure until the Lord returns. To be hopefully waiting is to expect that the Lord rewards those who are steadfast.
How are you waiting, my friend? Be patient and wait for the Lord.
Yet those who wait (hope in) for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31 NASB)
