AP

James 5:7-8 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.

Patience is not a natural characteristic of modern man.  We have become so accustomed to having our needs met on demand that having to wait for anything can make us very irrirtable.  We don’t like queuing in the traffic or at the supermarket.  Most of us can afford to purchase whatever we need, using our credit card.  Our communications are instantaneous, even to the other side of the world.

So when the Lord seems slow to answer our prayers, and our work for him seems to be bearing little, if any, immediate fruit, we are easily discouraged and inclined to give up.  James’ words here are therefore very relevant to us.

Patience is part of the ‘fruit of the Spirit’: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, pstience (the Greek word literally means ‘long-suffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22); so for us especially it serves as a reliable indicator of the state of our spiritual health.

James probably had in mind Jesus’ parable of the seed that grows slowly but surely while the farmer sleeps (Mark 4:26-29), as did the apostle Paul when he wrote: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow”, at the rate he determines (1 Corinthians 3:6).  Paul also urged the church in Rome: “Be joyful in hope, patient (different Greek word meaning ‘to remain under’, ‘persevere’, ‘not give up’) in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Are we fully trusting God with his timing in our lives, standing firm, like Job (James 5:11), on his promises when things are not working out as we’d hoped?  “Spirit of God, descend upon my heart, wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.  Stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art, and make me love thee as I ought to love. … … Teach me to feel that thou art always nigh; teach me the struggles of the soul to bear, to check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh; teach me the patience of ‘unanswered’ prayer” (George Croly).

– Bruce Christian