James 5:7-8—Be patient

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 this website late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8

Therefore be patient, brethren…

James had just written about the self-absorbed, inhumane behavior that some who were wealthy displayed toward souls more righteous than they—men of whom the world was not worthy (Hebrews 11:38a). In the face of such treatment, James wrote “be patient”. The Greek word for “patient” is makrothymeō, which means “to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart”; “to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles”; “to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others”; “to be mild and slow in avenging”; and “to be longsuffering, slow to anger, slow to punish” ( see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3114&t=KJV). When suffering unjustly, no one feels like responding that way. Yet this is what James taught.

The first meaning for makrothymeō is telling—“to be of a long spirit”. Your spirit, made in the image of Jesus Himself, is capable of bearing long under anything. As unpleasant as this may sound, the “long spirit” outlasts everyone and everything else. A man or woman with a “long spirit” is the last one standing, and hence, through Christ, is more than a conqueror. But how long must you exercise this “long spirit” of patience?

… until the coming of the Lord.

You are called to be patient until the coming of the Lord. Jesus did not return in James’ time, therefore, the patience of his audience was to extend to the end of their days. You and I are called to this duration of patience as well—until the coming of the Lord or the end of our lives, whichever comes first. And remember: the Lord never calls you to do anything for which He does not equip you. You are equipped; through Jesus you have been given a “long spirit”.

The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it…

Farmers have patience. They understand sowing and capoeiraliguria.it kamagra richiede una prescrizione in germania reaping, and they understand the necessity of waiting out the process for seeds sown to develop into a fully mature harvest. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head” (Mark 4:26b-28). The farmer doesn’t dig up the seed every day to see if it has sprouted roots yet; he waits and lets the seed and the soil do their thing.

The church world today has viewed sowing and reaping and the patience of the farmer primarily in relation to the things we’ve desired. And that is fitting. Yet here, James was likening the patience of a farmer to believers enduring through ungodly treatment. Even when others look down on or misuse you, remember the farmer’s patient sowing and reaping. You sow peace; you sow integrity; you sow love and endure patiently, and you will reap an enormous crop of righteousness—if not now, then later. If not later, then in the world to come. And according to the Word—great shall be your reward (see Matthew 5:12).

…until it gets the early and late rains.

In James’ day, the early rains started in October (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G4406&t=KJV). The late rains were in March or April, just before the harvest (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3797&t=KJV).

Patiently waiting for a mature crop was the way of life for James’ readers, and they knew the importance of rainstorms. Yes, it was muddy. Yes, the air was heavy with a damp chill. Yes, it was gloomy and crowwatkin.co.uk viagra dark. But the rains were necessary for the harvest to spring forth from the ground in all its abundant glory. Waiting in the damp, muddy, gloomy chill for a bumper crop was well worth every dark, dank, sticky, icky minute.

You too be patient…

James reminded them of the patience which farmers exerted through the often unpleasant, long wait and urged: You too be patient. He was encouraging them to view their harsh circumstances as the rain necessary to produce an abundant crop. If they encountered ill-treatment or distorted misrepresentation, it was like torrential downpours and angry thunderstorms. They, like farmers, could endure it all for the sake of the coming harvest.

…strengthen your hearts…

How do you strengthen your heart? Psalm 27:14 declares, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.” Patience—waiting on God—has a strengthening component to it. As you wait on Him, you gain new strength (see Isaiah 40:31). And as you wait on Him, your heart takes courage, enabling you to stand. When you have done everything to stand, His courage within you empowers you to keep standing.

… for the coming of the Lord is near.

The endgame is not what evil men and women envision with their cleverly crafted social engineering. The endgame is not the ultimate triumph of man’s methods, ways, and ideologies over the beliefs of “unevolved clingers to an archaic Deity”. No.

The endgame is this: The coming of the Lord is near, and every eye will see Him (see Revelation 1:7). And the end of the matter is this: Because Jesus is Lord, you win. You—man or woman of the “long spirit”—have within you the ability to outlast and surpass the most unnerving, depressing, manipulative, wicked, undermining schemes concocted by man or by devil. Exert patience. Strengthen your heart.

The Lord is coming soon.

Dorothy

O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:23-24