James 5:7-12 Series

God promises to provide us the strength to wait well but we have to stand firm.

We see the same principle in Philippians 2:

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

Tom Petty captured this:

Well, I won’t back down / No I won't back down

You could stand me up at the gates of Hell

But I won't back down

No I'll stand my ground / Won’t be turned around

And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down

Gonna stand my ground / And I won't back down

Whenever I come to this word in James, I’m reminded of the anonymous man who stood down a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square in China. That’s the perfect picture of what God wants us to do.

But how do we get that strength and courage? By enduring opposition, persecution, and unfair treatment with patience, grace, and shalom in our hearts.

I saw a quote on Facebook this week:

“In the gym, the weight doesn’t get easier to lift, you get stronger.

In life, events don’t get easier to handle, you become, through trials, better equipped to handle them.”

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians:

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

I was getting my hair cut this week by a former student of mine. We were talking about what happened ten years ago this month at my former church and she said, “The way that you and Maxine were treated was so unfair. I just don’t understand how you guys dealt with that.”

I told her that we decided, at the very beginning of the process, that we would honor the Lord with our words and actions. In order to do that, we went radio silent. While rumors, accusations, and totally false stories swirled around us, we stayed quiet and “shallomed” those who were causing so much pain.

Was it fun? Absolutely not. Were there tears of anger and frustration? Plenty. But we knew that the purpose is in the process and the process is the purpose. God wanted to grow us and teach us very important things and if we raged on social media or attacked those attacking us, we would short-circuit the results.

Don’t Grumble

Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

The word “grumbling” is an onomatopoeia - it sounds like what it means. It means to mutter under your breath.

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James probably had in mind the children of Israel when he wrote this.

Moses led them out of Egypt and out of slavery. They saw God do miracle after miracle. And yet, when they were trapped at the Red Sea they grumbled against Moses - did you bring us out of Egypt so we could die here?