Patience and endurance—two key words in today’s text that we will spend a few minutes exploring as we hear James speaking affectionately to his fellow believers, offering hope and encouragement in their suffering. He reminds them that their God is faithful, they are not forgotten and he will deliver them.
What’s the secret to facing the hardest of times with patience and endurance? It’s embracing the deep truth that God is, in fact, actively producing a harvest in our lives, even in the middle of the mess. It’s knowing that He’s actually working in our waiting, even when we can’t understand how.
There can be no perseverance without trials—no victories without battles and no peaks without valleys. Let's unpack this and more in today's message…
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—James 5: 7-11 (CSB)—
Waiting for the Lord
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!
10 Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured.[a] You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
