Patient Anticipation

James 5:7-11 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the valuable harvest from the ground, patiently waiting for it, until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You be patient too. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors! 10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering with patient endurance. 11 See, we consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and have seen what the Lord did in the end, because the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful.

We've all experienced how we can put up with a lot of junk and frustration and even plenty of pain so long as we have something good waiting for us on the horizon. A student can slog through those last couple weeks of school knowing that summer break is only days away. A mother patiently endures the discomfort of the last month of pregnancy and suffers through labor pains because she knows she'll soon be cradling God's gift of new life in her arms. ...So what are you anticipating and holding onto for the hope of joy and some future relief? Is it a birthday party, a vacation, retirement? These are all blessings from God, but their luster fades away and in this sinful world every blessing includes additional frustrations of its own. 

Here James invites us to lift our eyes and set our heart's expectation on what is best and lasting: the eternal joy and endless rest that the Lord Jesus will bestow on believers when he comes again on the Last Day. The anticipation of unending bliss and glory empowers us to extend our patience beyond our limits and stake down our hearts, strengthening them with hope, through the storms of life. The timeless God promises that the certainty of heaven is soon to come. Already 2000 years ago James pictures Jesus as standing on the verge, standing at the door—how much nearer he is today! That close proximity gives us the courage and resolve to endure the disappointments, trials, and pains of this temporary existence.

The Apostle provides us with two examples of patient anticipation: that of a farmer waiting for the rains and that of the prophets of old. Israel is a very arid place with only one freshwater lake and one river, neither of which are well-suited for irrigation. So agriculture there is completely dependent upon predictable rainfall—namely the early rains that soften the ground and allow plants to germinate and grow, followed by the latter rains, which give the plants the additional moisture they need to produce fruit. If either of these doesn't happen, that season’s harvest will fail, but thankfully the spring and autumn rains come like clockwork in Israel. The farmer needs only wait patiently for their inevitable arrival. 

Likewise, we know from Scripture how the prophets and people of God suffered persecution, loss, and pain as they clung to God in faith and looked to him in hope, trusting that God is gracious and compassionate. Since he knows our slightest pain and deepest sorrows and feels them in the depths of his being, we believe he also has a good purpose for every trial we go through and will finally give us relief from all suffering and sadness. In Job's case the faithful God gave him a tiny taste of relief in this life by giving him additional children and restoring his wealth after everything had been taken away. But whether in this life or the next, relief from the Lord IS surely coming!

Lastly, James warns us about what can happen when the days get long and the pressures and pains don't seem to let up. We can easily lose sight of our hope and start to take our frustrations out one another, "complaining (or grumbling) about each other." When we get short-tempered and get at each other, may God send another fellow-Christian, like James, to rebuke us so that we repent of our attitude, words, and actions, and refocus our eyes and fortify our forgiven hearts with the patient anticipation of his coming.

Questions / Personal Reflection:

1.) Make a list of the things that are most frustrating you right now. How will Christ’s coming and the enjoyment of heaven thereafter minimize, correct, and entirely erase these troubles? 

2.) Pick one of your favorite prophets (such as Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Daniel, or Isaiah). Read through and review the record of their lives in Scripture, and take note of their sufferings, God’s compassion and faithfulness, and finally their blessed end. Meditate on their example, and take heart that the Lord will likewise lead and guide you through life.   

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are coming soon to remake your perfect creation and make me strong, joyful, and sin-free in your presence. In the meantime help me to trust that whatever hardships of body, mind, and soul you allow to come into my life come from your compassionate heart for my eternal good. Increase my endurance of troubles and let me be patient and loving towards the people you have placed in my life. Amen.