James 5:7-12 The Two-Day Quiet Time

I spent two days on these 6 verses!  Because of a busy schedule, I read the verses and my commentary yesterday, but never got to journal.  I now know that God was giving me a chance to put into action what I’d read and also to see where I didn’t follow what I’d read so that I could compare the results before rereading it again today to see what I’d forgotten or ignored. 

Yesterday, I spent a large part of the day alone with my dad for a doctor’s appointment of my own plus two for him.  As his Alzheimer’s continues to rob him of the ability to be the man he once was, I know God was showing me more of the man he is now, and what I can still value in that, along with how I can better relate to him in a Christ-like way.  I discovered that I could get along very well with him by remembering what it was like when Josh and Joseph were 7 and 8 years old and still filled with wonder at this new place called America, which they didn’t understand, including much of the language.  Just as they would not know everything about where we were headed and why and needed to be entertained in the interim, I found that my dad needs that, too!  More than anything, I discovered that the fatherly love and patience I had with them is very fitting to be used with my dad now.

In my commentary, I read about the power of patience:  “God is not going to right all the wrongs in this world until Jesus Christ returns and we believers must patiently endure – and expect.”  It pointed out two words used – longsuffering refers to patience with persons while endurance refers to patience with conditions or situations.

James gave three examples to help us better visualize what’s needed in regard to patience:  farming, the prophets, and Job. 

“James pictured the Christian as a spiritual farmer looking for a spiritual harvest … Our hearts are the soil and the seed is the Word of God.  There are seasons to the spiritual life just as there are seasons to the soil.  Sometimes our hearts become cold and wintry, and the Lord has to plow them up before He can plant the seed … Here, then, is a secret of endurance when the going is tough:  God is producing a harvest in our lives … He wants the fruit of the Spirit to grow and the only way He can do it is through trials and troubles.  Instead of growing impatient with God and with ourselves, we must yield to the Lord and permit the fruit to grow.”

This really hit me:  “Impatience with God often leads to impatience with God’s people, and this is a sin we must avoid.  If we start using the sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest.”

James also mentioned the prophets and how, despite their obedience to God’s will, they suffered.  “Satan tells the faithful Christian that his suffering is the result of sin or unfaithfulness, and yet his suffering might well be because of faithfulness!  ‘All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12)’  We must never think that obedience automatically produces ease and pleasure.  Our Lord was obedient, and it led to the cross! … The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”

“Like the farmer, we keep working, and, like the prophets, we keep witnessing, no matter how trying the circumstances may be.”

“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered (James 5:11).  But you cannot persevere unless there is a trial in your life.  There can be no victories without battles; there can be no peaks without valleys.  If you want a blessing, you must be prepared to carry the burden and fight the battle … God has to balance privileges with responsibilities, blessings with burdens, or else you and I will become spoiled, pampered children.”

“The book of Job teaches us that God has higher purposes in suffering than the punishing of sins … Jesus suffered not for His own sins, but for the sins of the world … God never wastes the suffering of His saints … If there is nothing to endure, you cannot learn endurance … When you find yourself in the fire, remember that God keeps His gracious hand on the thermostat! … Satan wants us to get impatient with God, for an impatient Christian is a powerful weapon in the devil’s hands  … When you find yourself in the furnace, got to the throne of grace and receive from the Lord all the grace you need to endure.  Remind yourself that the Lord has a gracious purpose in all of this suffering and that He will work out His purpose in His time and for His glory.”

Thank You, Father, for a day spent learning all this.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford