How Do I Learn Patience?
James 5:7-8 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
8 You also, be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
8 You also, be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
The first two words in verse 7 are words we all love to hear all the time. It’s something I say often to my kids, usually in my best Yoda impression, to tell them to “Be patient,” and I usually add “young padawan” or something.
James 5:7 starts out “7 Be patient, therefore, brothers” – who? Brothers in Christ, fellow Christians. Remember he was talking in the previous six verses to the rich, not necessarily Christians, but people attending church. So the first six verses are sometimes labeled as a “warning to the rich” but now in verses 7-12, we’re on a completely different playing field. We’ve dealt with the rich, and kicked them in the pants a bit, now we’re going after those who are suffering, who are poor – not necessarily financially, perhaps poor in spirit. So here’s what he says: be patient. Who wants to do that?
How do we learn patience? Some of you may think you’re already learning patience, you’re becoming a patient individual, and I challenge that. We all have a pulse and a heartbeat, and that makes us impatient, it’s just the way it is. I’m the king of impatience at times. And James says “be patient” three times in these verses. Each time, he references the coming of the Lord. James wrote this letter to the church about what the Lord has laid on his heart and how the Lord is guiding his pen. He says be patient until the coming of the Lord. That was in the year 45. We’re almost 2,000 years past that now. How many of us are being patient until the coming of the Lord?
How many of us are being patient in the burdens and sufferings that we are carrying with us right now? Everyone is carrying some kind of burden. Most of us, if we were honest, would say we have plenty of burdens. We can make lists of all the things keeping us awake at night, and keeping us from getting the rest we need, all the things that are keeping our minds and hearts preoccupied from what we should be doing. Whether we’re worried about health issues – my family has been sick this week, financial issues – how are we going to get the bills paid, relationship issues – maybe you’re confused about where you are and worried that you’ve made somebody mad, or maybe you’re mad yourself. You are burdened with something, you’re carrying it around, and it’s causing you to suffer. Maybe you’re dealing with burn-out. And James says to be patient.
The question is, How do we learn patience? How do we learn how to be patient? Through hard situations. How many times have you prayed that God would give you patience, hoping for a lightening bolt from Heaven and a voice saying, “You are now patient, my child. You don’t have to worry about things any more. You have the patience of Job.” That’s what we expect. We want to pray and have patience granted to us right then. Guess what? That’s not how it happens. Most of us, because we don’t have the patience of Job, we look at our anxiety and worry. If we have patience, we are confident in the Lord’s ability to see us through whatever situation we are in. If we are impatient, then we are concerned more with ourselves. We aren’t sure we can trust God in this, so it creates a lot of frustration in us, a lot of anxiety.
James 5:7 starts out “7 Be patient, therefore, brothers” – who? Brothers in Christ, fellow Christians. Remember he was talking in the previous six verses to the rich, not necessarily Christians, but people attending church. So the first six verses are sometimes labeled as a “warning to the rich” but now in verses 7-12, we’re on a completely different playing field. We’ve dealt with the rich, and kicked them in the pants a bit, now we’re going after those who are suffering, who are poor – not necessarily financially, perhaps poor in spirit. So here’s what he says: be patient. Who wants to do that?
How do we learn patience? Some of you may think you’re already learning patience, you’re becoming a patient individual, and I challenge that. We all have a pulse and a heartbeat, and that makes us impatient, it’s just the way it is. I’m the king of impatience at times. And James says “be patient” three times in these verses. Each time, he references the coming of the Lord. James wrote this letter to the church about what the Lord has laid on his heart and how the Lord is guiding his pen. He says be patient until the coming of the Lord. That was in the year 45. We’re almost 2,000 years past that now. How many of us are being patient until the coming of the Lord?
How many of us are being patient in the burdens and sufferings that we are carrying with us right now? Everyone is carrying some kind of burden. Most of us, if we were honest, would say we have plenty of burdens. We can make lists of all the things keeping us awake at night, and keeping us from getting the rest we need, all the things that are keeping our minds and hearts preoccupied from what we should be doing. Whether we’re worried about health issues – my family has been sick this week, financial issues – how are we going to get the bills paid, relationship issues – maybe you’re confused about where you are and worried that you’ve made somebody mad, or maybe you’re mad yourself. You are burdened with something, you’re carrying it around, and it’s causing you to suffer. Maybe you’re dealing with burn-out. And James says to be patient.
The question is, How do we learn patience? How do we learn how to be patient? Through hard situations. How many times have you prayed that God would give you patience, hoping for a lightening bolt from Heaven and a voice saying, “You are now patient, my child. You don’t have to worry about things any more. You have the patience of Job.” That’s what we expect. We want to pray and have patience granted to us right then. Guess what? That’s not how it happens. Most of us, because we don’t have the patience of Job, we look at our anxiety and worry. If we have patience, we are confident in the Lord’s ability to see us through whatever situation we are in. If we are impatient, then we are concerned more with ourselves. We aren’t sure we can trust God in this, so it creates a lot of frustration in us, a lot of anxiety.