Patience – God’s Work in You
Be patient, then brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door. James 5:7-9
There have been Christians in every generation for the last 2,000 years praying for Christ’s return. And every generation has had to learn patience. No doubt many have doubted the clear promises about His return because it hasn’t come as they expected.
‘Be patient’ James tells us. “Patience is a virtue.” You might have been told that by adults when you were a child and impatient for whatever you wanted to see happen. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). All this shows how important patience is to the true child of God.
The farmer knows what it is to be patient. He prepares the soil and then plants seed in it. You don’t see him going out everyday looking to see if the first shoots are up yet. Farmers learn to live with the rhythm of the seasons.
Our society is the opposite. We want fresh produce (from the farm) available every day. We’ve all but removed the need for patience in our everyday lifestyle. This isn’t good. We live an increasingly frantic lifestyle with too little room to “stop and smell the roses.”
Impatience shows in how we speak. Grumblers are always impatient. James knows that because he’s seen it in the church. Grumbling always involves a measure of judgement. We’re judging someone or something.
‘The Judge is standing at the door.’ The Lord Jesus will return and when He does, everything wrong will be made right. Everything hidden will be exposed to His glorious light. ‘Every mouth (will be) silenced and the whole world held accountable to God’ (Romans 3:19).
‘Be patient.’ God is patient. The Holy Spirit is constantly working to bring God’s likeness into our lives; so allow Him to grow this neglected fruit in you.
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