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James 5:7a “Be patient, brethren.” Have you ever murmured to yourself, “I’ve put up with this long enough?” Or maybe, “I don’t know if I can take any more from that big mouth at work?” Or have you heard yourself at the light, “Get off your phone. The light’s green!” If you had a megaphone you’d use it. If you’re anything like me, patience can run pretty thin at times. Martin Luther said, “All my life is patience. I have to have patience with the pope, the heretics, my family, and Katie.”
God knows all about our sinful impatient attitude and that’s why He had James write about it in our passage this morning. Not once or twice, but six times in various ways he tells us, “Be patient!” And you’ll notice that he is addressing us as brothers. He’s talking to believers. He just slammed those rich dudes who took advantage of other people. Now he’s telling us how to handle all the evil, the nastiness, the troubles you experience from other people in this fallen world. You can’t react in anger or frustration. That’s how the world deals with trouble from others. Steaming with resentment, they go into the workplace and start evening the score. Or they let their loved ones who’ve been getting on their nerves have it with a barrage of nasty, cutting words.
God doesn’t let us solve problems like that. He says, “Therefore, be patient.” Patience has to do with how you respond to people who are pushing your buttons or “getting on your nerves.” It literally means going a long time without getting angry or blowing your top (Greek: makro – long, and thumia – anger). Proverbs calls it “slow to anger.” We can add that it is easy to grow a habit of impatience that becomes hard to change because that’s how habits are. It’s one thing to get impatient occasionally. But as sinners we can go from being the most patient people in the world to being a most impatient, unkind, nasty person and we need God’s help to repent. Impatience is a sin. It’s taking matters into your own hands. It’s denying God’s good providence in your life, putting yourself at the center of your universe. “Everybody in my life should be pleasing me and they’re not and it really irks me.”
The other word we’ll come to in verse 11 is endurance. Endurance (Greek: hupo – under, and meno – to remain) has to do with how we handle difficult circumstances. Do we let difficult circumstances control us and tear us up or do we see God in those circumstances and grow through them? We saw that in James 1:2-5, where James said, “Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, or situations of any kind, knowing the trying of your faith works endurance.” We’re going to lay out seven truths from our passage to help us grow a good harvest of patience in our lives before we take off for glory.
PATIENCE IS BIG STUFF IN GOD’S BOOK
Chrysostom called patience the “queen of the virtues.” To show you how important patience is in your Christian life, that it’s big stuff in God’s book, check these seven references.
1 Corinthians 13:4 – patience heads God’s love list, “Love is patient.”
Galatians 5:23 – “the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience.”
Ephesians 4:2 – “with patience bearing with one another in love.”
Colossians 1:11 – Paul prays for patience and endurance to grow in our lives.
Colossians 3:12 – patience is part of our spiritual wardrobe of the heart.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 – we are to be patient with all men.
2 Timothy 4:2 – Paul exhorted Timothy to preach the word with all patience and instruction.
Let’s not forget the most patient man in history, our Lord Jesus Christ. His whole life was patience, with His own family, with His disciples who just didn’t get it, but especially with His critics and detractors. They charged him with being a glutton, a drunkard, illegitimate, insane, a blasphemer, and demon possessed. And think of His patience as evil men abused Him before they crucified Him. They crushed a crown of thorns over His head, spit on Him, punched Him, whacked Him with a stick, cursed and mocked Him, taunted Him, and He stood there in an incredible display of patience. He could have struck them down with a simple word. But He patiently committed Himself to God in doing the right thing, and what was the end? Salvation for you and me. Patience is big stuff in God’s book. He Himself is patient with sinners. Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
CHRIST IS COMING – HANG IN THERE
James 5:7a Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
He hasn’t come back yet. He could come back today. James reminds us three times in three verses, 7, 8, and 11 that Christ’s return is imminent, at any moment. The word “coming” means to be present with us. Until He comes, though, we live in a fallen world full of fallen people who will not meet your expectations and will try your patience. God never promised that now that you’re a child of God people will treat you with all kinds of love and kindness and meet all your needs. No, God assured us that until Christ returns, all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Jesus Himself said, “In the world you will have troubles,” and He meant mostly from people.
He may come at any moment, but until He does, God says put off anger and put on patience, trusting God even when people mistreat you, hurt you, slander you, irritate you – at work, at home, even in the church. You will expect things from people and they will disappoint you. But remember two things. When people disappoint you, those are God’s times of developing Christlike character in you. And second, you yourself have disappointed others. You yourself have tried the patience of parents, partners, bosses, and especially God. How patient He has been with us, right? Until Christ returns we live in this fallen world among fallen people and will need to practice patience if we aim to please our God.
IT ISN’T HARVEST TIME YET
James 5:7b The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
James loves to use down-home illustrations, and here he brings in George, the farmer. The Greek word for farmer is “George.” Have you ever planted seeds? No matter how much you yell at them or impatient you get with them, God has a timetable for seeds to grow. Imagine a farmer out in his field yelling at his recently planted seed, telling them to hurry up and grow. “What’s wrong with you seeds? I’m sick and tired of waiting for you to produce.” No, the farmer is patient. First the fall rains and then the spring rains and finally the precious harvest. That’s God’s timing. We want to put God on fast forward, but God moves at His own pace, and it’s usually slower. I want it fast, now. I like the commercial that says you can lose that belly fat overnight by sending $80 for our special secret nutritional drink. And if you call now, we’ll double the order! Wait, why would I need two if one works? Anyway, that’s it; fast and easy, but that’s not how God works.
We are spiritual farmers, growing the precious fruit of the Spirit. When the going gets tough, remember, God is up to something and He’s working behind the scenes, on His timetable, not yours. “But I need patience with these people now!” but God says, not so fast, fella. Growing patience takes time and God will fertilize your life with difficult people and circumstances. When you are struggling with someone who’s getting on the last nerve you’ve got, ask yourself, “What is God doing in my life? What is He up to? How does He want me to grow and change? How is God using this person or these people to help me grow a precious harvest of Christlikeness?” God is sovereign and you can be sure He hasn’t made a mistake. He put those people in your life for your good and His glory. Be patient. Wait for the early and late rains.
YOU NEED A STRONG HEART TO HANDLE DIFFICULT PEOPLE
James 5:8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
You may be working out regularly and strengthening your abs and pecs and glutes and all the other portions in your muscular anatomy, but here James says the way to grow a good crop of patience is to strengthen your hearts as you wait for the coming of the Lord. A strong heart is a heart that does not give up or give in. Paul told Timothy, who struggled with timidity, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” How can you develop patience? Strengthen your heart by God’s grace. Fill your heart with doctrine, with the knowledge of God. Fill your heart with confidence in God’s sovereignty and in God’s providence. Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.
When you feel yourself getting tight, ticked off, up to here, this is God’s red warning light on your dashboard that you’re taking matters into your own hands. Your grace gauge is on empty. You need to refill to strengthen your heart with God’s grace, remembering His gracious patience with you. And God has a purpose with this person. He’s strengthening your heart to love this person rather than be irritated at him or her, to return good for evil. God and this person are more important than you are. You’re not here to get your own way. You need to strengthen your heart by God’s powerful grace, with prayer and meditation on His Word.
A COMPLAINING SPIRIT IS A SURE SIGN OF IMPATIENCE
James 5:9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
This word “complain” speaks of an inner, bitter, vindictive spirit toward others who somehow have done you wrong or made life hard for you. How easy it is to develop an unloving spirit toward others and your mind keeps repeating, “I can’t believe she said that.” “I can’t believe he did the same thing again.” “Oh brother!” We cannot let other people so exasperate us that we just throw up our hands and say, “That’s it! I’m done having anything to do with these people.” Thankfully God didn’t do that with us.
Your patience can be tried even when someone innocently brings hardship to you. Sometime patience means changing your entire life for the sake of someone else. Theologian B. B. Warfield, professor of theology at Princeton Seminary in the early 1900s, took his new wife to Germany for a honeymoon while he did some studying there. They took a walk in the woods and suddenly they found themselves in a violent thunderstorm. Somehow Mrs. Warfield’s nervous system was affected and she became an invalid. Warfield cared for her for the next 30 or more years, seldom leaving his home for more than two hours at a time, patiently reading to her every day. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Warfield explained this great verse like this: “The fundamental thought is the universal government of God. All that comes to you is under His controlling hand. The secondary thought is the favor of God to those that love Him. If He governs all, then nothing but good can befall those to whom He would do good.”
The command is to stop complaining. It assumes they were doing it, and it is easy to do. Commentator Hiebert writes, “The warning is against that human tendency to give way to vexations by unjustly lashing out against those near and dear.” It’s too true – To live up there with the saints that we love, that will be glory. But to live here with the saints that we know, that’s a different story.” A patient, forbearing spirit is a forgiving spirit. If you are walking in love you’re not going to hold offenses or a complaining spirit against people.
Steve Farrar tells the story about Robert E. Lee visiting a wealthy Kentucky widow after the Civil War. While sitting on her porch after lunch, she pointed to a once majestic magnolia tree that had been badly burned from Northern artillery fire. She began to weep as she described her former stately, beautiful tree. She looked to Mr. Lee for a condemning word about the North. After pausing a few seconds, Lee said, “My dear madam, cut it down and forget it.” (Tempered Steel, p. 119). How easily Joseph could have complained and accused his nasty brothers after dad died. Instead, he said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Notice, the Judge is standing right at the door. What a picture. James says if you’re going to hold grudges and a complaining spirit against those who made life difficult for you, then you better get ready to hear from the coming Judge. He’s right at the door about to enter the courtroom. Believers won’t be condemned eternally for sin, but we will give an account of ourselves. 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Do you nurture a complaining spirit against others in your life? It’s time to confess it and ask God to fill your heart with love for those people. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH A TARGET ON YOUR BACK
James 5:10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
You may have said to yourself, “No one knows what I’m going through.” The fact is that many have gone through what you’re dealing with and much worse. Or you might think, “I’m serving the Lord. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment.” The fact is, no trial or test has come your way that is not common to man, and God has a way to handle it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
True, Elijah called fire down from heaven on those three sets of 50 soldiers sent by the king and Elisha cursed the boys who mockingly called out to him, “Go up you bald head.” In short time two female bears came out and tore up 42 of those smart alecks.
But it doesn’t work that way for us. James says, “Think about the prophets. There they were, serving God, preaching the Word, and almost all of them suffered and had to be patient.” They threw Jeremiah into a muddy well for preaching the truth. Here was the attitude he had to patiently endure.
Jeremiah 20:10-11: 10 For I have heard the whispering of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!” All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say: “Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him.” 11 But the LORD is with me like a dread champion; therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed because they have failed, with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
It wasn’t the false prophets who were treated this way. The people loved the false prophets who said what they wanted to hear. These prophets spoke the truth and suffered for it. It’s always been that way. You’re not alone. When Spurgeon separated from the Baptist Union in England because of the liberalism known as the Downgrade Controversy coming into the churches, former friends turned on him and falsely accused him and attacked him for being unreasonable. Spurgeon responded with patience, but it wasn’t easy. He wrote, “The pain it has cost me no one can measure. I can never compromise the truth of God.” Today the world hears our message and accuses us of being unloving when in fact to tell the truth is the most loving thing we can do. Paul exhorted Timothy to patience and preaching truth though many will want their ears tickled, not their hearts convicted. Those prophets who spoke truth patiently suffered in their calling.
LOOK AT JOB AND COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
James 5:11, 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.
Dear Job! He lost it all. His body became covered with pus-oozing boils. His wife told him to curse God and die! Not to mention those three so-called friends who misinterpreted Job’s whole plight, insisting Job must have sinned grievously to have suffered so much. Did Job complain? Yes. Did he wish he’d never been born? Yes. Did he get irritated at his friends? “Sorry comforters are you all with your windy words” (Job 16:2). But look what God says about Job here. This is the only place in the New Testament that mentions Job. And all God sees is Job’s endurance. Job struggled mightily, but when it’s all said and done, he was faithful to God. In Job 13:15 he cried out, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” And that’s what God remembers. May God remember us the same way, amen? If Job hung in there, so can you. We have a hope to grow a good harvest of patience.
What was the outcome or the end of God’s dealing with Job? He double blessed him. He showed Job how compassionate and merciful He is. One of the greatest keys to developing patience in this fallen world is this: God has only good in mind for you, even through those difficult people and circumstances in your life, wherever and whoever that includes. God is compassionate and merciful. Other people may mean it for evil to you, but write this down: GOD MEANS IT FOR YOUR GOOD.
That’s exactly why we need to be patient and endure, whether we’re dealing with hard circumstances or difficult people. Be patient, be patient, be patient. A patient husband, wife. A patient parent. A patient teenager. A patient worker. A patient driver. Through your faith in Christ with a heart strengthened in the grace of God, know that God is for you in this fallen world. Control your anger, your irritations, your frustrations by the power of God’s Spirit filling your heart.
Ephesians 4:1-3, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (ESV)
And above all remember God’s patience with sinners.
Romans 2:4, Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?