James 5:7-8 “Therefore be patient,
brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious
produce of the soil being patient about it until it gets the early and late
rains. You, too, be patient; strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord
is near.”
Near the end of James’
epistle, he spoke to the Jerusalem Christians and exhorted them to be patient
until Jesus Christ returns. The Christians believed Jesus’ return would be soon
and wondered how long they would have to suffer trials and hard times before He
returned. They were tired from withstanding famine, poverty, and oppression at
the hands of the Jews and Romans.
After James taught them to
remember their riches are in heaven, trials come to help grow a person, and
living out one’s faith in the world, he returned to his original exhortation of
chapter one verse two. This time he did not say, “Consider it all joy when you
encounter various trials.” He strongly encouraged the Jerusalem Christians to
be patient until Jesus returns. Being patient means bearing offenses and
injuries from other people while being mild and slow to anger. Patience is
endurance. Endurance is one of James’ key words. He tied endurance to
perseverance and that to perfection and completeness. So James did not just
say be patient until Jesus comes. He meant let your patient endurance take
your closer to completeness and perfection. Instead of focusing on the hard
times, focus on Jesus and becoming more like Him.
God said every Christian
could ask for wisdom to get through a trial. He did not leave us defenseless
during trials. God offers His resources for our trials/battles. They come
through the Holy Spirit for fortitude/endurance/wisdom and through external
help via the Father. When going through trials, Christians are not alone that
is how they can bear trials and wait patiently for the coming of the Lord.
James used a common
analogy for the time of waiting. He said as the farmer waits for the early and
late rains to produce a harvest, so Christians are to wait with anticipation
for Jesus Christ’s return and their completeness and perfection in Him. The
early and late rains come from God. He is the one who produces the harvest. The
farmer waits patiently on God to provide those rains and the harvest.
Christians are the farmers in this analogy. They work by planting the seed and keeping
the weeds out. That is the Christian learning and growing by studying and
staying in God’s Word so the world and secular opinions do not choke God’s Word
and teachings from our hearts and minds. For James it also includes living our
faith out in the world with actions and words – doing and hearing. God will
water throughout the year if we are ready for Him to bring the harvest – if we
are standing firm in Him and growing to completion and perfection in Christ. God
will bring the harvest in our lives. Jesus Christ will return. The harvest is
at the return of Jesus Christ. In this analogy, Christians are the farmers as
well as God.
Because this is so
important to James and for fellow Christians to hear, he repeated it in verse
eight. “You, too, be patient; strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord
is near.” James did not command his hearers to be patient. He meant be patient
just as he must be patient. He walked with them in their struggles. James was not in
an ivory tower seeing the Jerusalem Christians’ suffering. He was there with
them going through it, too.
James commanded them to “strengthen
their hearts.” This means stand fast, be constant, and confirm your commitment to
Jesus Christ because He is returning. Your trials will not make Him stay away.
Jesus comes when His Father tells Him. We do not know when that will be, but we
know it will happen. So keep staying in the Word and working out your faith in
your daily life. Because you are a child of God, your riches are in heaven; no
one on earth can steal them away from you. God is with you and will get you
through your trials if you ask for His wisdom and believe. And remember, the
trials will grow endurance and perfection in you.
Does this make it easier
for us to go through hard times knowing God is there to help and you are
growing more like Christ with each trial? Do you want to be more perfect and
complete as Jesus is perfect and complete? After James taught his epistle, I am
sure some people might have said, “I want to be more like Jesus; bring on the
trials.” Can other people see we are Christians by our walk during easy and
hard times? We need to consider what James taught the Jerusalem Christians and
take it to heart. God loves you, gives you riches in heaven, and provides what
you need to go through each day.
Ask for His
wisdom.
Stand firm
with endurance.
Be patient in
trials.
Become more
complete and perfect.
Live your life
in faith, speaking and doing the Word of God.
