Patience and Perseverance Devotional Thoughts

Patience and Perseverance
 
We are nearing the end of our devotional study of the Book of James, and I hope it has been beneficial to those who have tuned in to the podcast over the course of the last few months.
 
On a personal level, it has been beneficial for me to reflect on these truths and to see how they have been evidenced in my life and in those I have had the privilege of serving over the course of the last forty plus years. It has been a reminder of the timelessness of the Word of God to our lives as we remember this letter was written to the early church in the first century AD.
 
James 5:7 – 11 [NASB] 7 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. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 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.
 
As James begins to close the letter to the early church, he reminds them of the importance of patience as they await the coming of the Lord.
 
This of course has been the hope of the church since the ascension of Jesus as recorded in Acts 1:9 – 11 [NASB] 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
 
Patience is necessary as we make our spiritual journey through life. In fact, as we remember in the first few verses of this letter James reminded the early church of the importance of patience which was produced in their lives as a result of the tests and trials they endured along the way. For patience and faith were produced in the crucible of adversity.  James 1:2 – 4 [NKJV] 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 
 
To illustrate the importance of patience, James points us to the farmers, who plant their seed, then wait patiently for the rains to come. A lot is happening in the unseen realm before the shoot pushes its way through the soil and grows to maturity. So too, a lot is happening in the unseen realm of the spirit. Patience is essential as we wait for the coming of the Lord.
 
In the process of waiting James exhorts the listener not to become distracted by their circumstances. We remember how the Children of Israel became distracted by their circumstances as they exited Egypt and began to grumble against Moses. This is a picture of the loss of perspective as they forgot God’s miraculous intervention in their hopeless circumstance, and the raising up of a deliverer to free them from the bondage of slavery. Once delivered they began to grumble against the deliverer and to evidence impatience.
 
While we may think how foolish the Children of Israel were to grumble against Moses, is not the same dynamic evidenced in the lives of some who having been delivered from the slavery and bondage of sin by Jesus Christ, the Deliverer. In the process of waiting, they have turned on him and, on their brothers, and sisters in Christ with grumbling and judgement.
 
Listen to what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:7 – 10 [NA