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PatienceFebruary 17, 2009James 5:7-11 7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm a good person. I do all the right things. Why are all these bad things happening to me?" It's an age old question: why do bad things happen to good people? Although the scriptures promise blessings on those that have faith in God, it does not promise that those blessings will be experienced in this life. When we begin reading the Bible and looking at the lives of the faithful, we begin to notice a pattern. Hardships befall on all of God's faithful. Faith does not protect us from trials. In many cases, faith causes trials. The difference lies in how Christians deal with the trials at hand. The Book of James focuses on Christianity in action. Rather than recounting the life of Jesus, James uses this letter to focus on practical implications of the Christian faith. He writes about self-control in our speech; exercising faith in our actions; and setting right priorities for our lives. Today's scripture focuses on the role of patience in hard times. Let's be honest. Patience is a refined discipline. It does not come naturally to us. If you don't believe me, just spend a day with a newborn baby. They don't know a thing about patience. They want it now! As children grow older the first things we teach them are about sharing, self-control, and you guessed it, patience. Every adult knows that patience is part of life, although some of us practice this better than others. Daily we encounter situations that try our patience: standing in the check out line in the grocery store when you only have one thing and the person in front of you has a cart overflowing; being placed on hold for half an hour when all you need to do is ask one simple question; sitting in traffic when all you want to do is be at home. It's hard to be patient in situations like these. It is even harder to be patient when there is real trouble facing us. James uses Job as an example to talk about how we should persevere in patience. The Old Testament character Job tragically lost everything of value he had (wife, children, farm, health, etc). His life was the definition of "rock-bottom." I hope none of us ever experience the kind of despair that Job did; but I know that many of us feel that the blows to our livelihood just keep coming and don't seem to stop. James recognizes this reality. He doesn't promise that our hardships will go away; rather, he calls us to practice patience in the midst of trials as we put our trust in God whose mercy and compassion will pull us through whatever comes our way. Prayer: Oh God you are my God. You know chaos in my life. Teach me patience daily to endure the mess I'm in. I will trust in your compassion and mercy as I walk through the hardships of life. Amen. For more informationRev. Leigh Martin |
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