PATIENCE & PERSEVERANCE

James 5:7-8

This time,  we will be observing the topic of patience and perseverance from the book of James 5:7. We are told to be patient, brethren, until the coming of the lord. This verse is telling us to be patient of all the hardships and suffering that all of us are going through while living on this earth, such as hardships from our daily lives, from our work, from school, and from physical and mental health issues. However, if we have endured all these hardships and suffering, God will provide us our reward at the right time, just like how the verse described how the farmer waited for the precious fruit of the earth. For example in Hebrews 6:13-15, with regards to God's promise to Abraham, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Just as God is patient towards all mankind waiting for their repentance in 2 Peter 3:9, God upholds His promises and is long-suffering toward us.

In James 5 : 8 we are told to be patient and to establish our hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. In 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5, the Bible tells us that the Lord is faithful who establishes you, and keeps you from evil, and the Lord will direct your hearts to the love of God, and to patiently waiting for Christ.

We also see the good examples in James 5:10-11, where we have heard the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is pitiful, compassionate and of tender mercy. We should be happy to endure all our hardship and suffering while living on this earth. Also, the Bible teaches us in verse 13 that if we are afflicted, let us pray, and if we are cheerful, let us sing psalms.

How can we be consoled after much affliction? In 2 Corinthians 1:3-6, we look at the example of Paul, who mentioned, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 

So, let us be patient and bear our afflictions without murmuring, our injuries without revenge, and though God should not in any manner appear for us immediately, wait for him. Let us serve God and endure our trials with the confidence that, in the end, all will be made worthwhile. Our eternal happiness is safe if we trust in Him. All else is mere vanity, which soon will be done with forever.

Ask Yourself:

1. What does the Bible teach us when we are suffering?

2. Who are some of the Bible characters we can learn from being patient?

3. What can Christians do when we are afflicted?

Suggested Answers:

1. To be patient & persevere

2. Job, Paul, Abraham

3. Pray to God