Patience James 5:7-12

In this passage James used three different examples for patience in suffering.

The agricultural theme has been cooking throughout the book of James. In 1:18 James referred to believers as the "first fruits". In 1:21 he tells us to "humbly accept the word planted in us" and in 3:18 we learned that Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. Given these references it seems fitting that the first example James should use when talking about patience in suffering is that of a farmer.

5:7 See how the farmer waits for the land to yield it's crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

What exactly is James talking about? Is it the suffering the church was going though due to persecution or perhaps it was something else. What if what he was saying was actually the suffering that came from waiting for the harvest of righteousness in their lives. Although they had been implanted with the Word it was still in the process of growing.

So many of our daily struggles come from that "not yet" part of our salvation. We are saved but we are also in the process of being saved. We must trust that the Lord will be faithful to complete it. This takes patience, patience like that of a farmer who plants his seed, cares for his seed and trusts that the rain will come and a great harvest will be the result.

The second example the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

The prophets have always astounded me. They preached the word of the Lord, the people ignored them and the people were judged anyway. I am sure that many of them wondered at times what the point even was. But most of the prophets did not just talk about Judgment all the time they also talked about a day of mercy. They talked about the gift of God that would take away the sins of the world. Although none of them got to see Jesus they spoke about him constantly. And they believed that when it was time God would bring the harvest. They had patience through their suffering caused by others sins.


The third example was Job. Job suffered not because of his sin or really others sins but ultimately because of a strange contest between God and the devil for his heart. James references Job and then simply says, " you have seen what the Lord has brought about". In the end the patience of Job to wait for the faithfulness of God paid off. He saw the Lord faithfully grow back all that was taken from him because "the Lord is full of compassion and mercy".


Do the three examples help you understand the suffering in your life better?

Why do we struggle with patience when we know the Gospel?

How can we practice patience in our lives?