Introduction

Friends, if your calendar has been crammed with waiting—waiting on a phone call, waiting on a breakthrough, waiting on the fog to lift—then you are in good company today. The Bible does not blush about the ache of “How long, Lord?” It speaks straight to the heart that beats a little faster when the answer seems slow and the night seems long. Some of us are waiting for a prodigal to come home. Some for a doctor’s report to change. Some for a door to open that has been locked for years. And all of us, if we’re honest, are waiting for the sky to split and the Savior we love to return as He promised.

There’s a holy hush that comes over life when we remember that God is not late. He’s not stuck. He’s not scrambling. He is steady, and He invites us to be steady too. The farmer in James lifts his eyes to the clouds and looks for rain; he cannot make the rain, but he can prepare his fields. He tills what he can till, trusts what he cannot control, and takes each day as a mercy. Maybe that is you today—hands in the soil of daily faithfulness, heart in the hands of a faithful God.

Hear this simple sentence—a lifeline for the hurried heart: “Faith is the refusal to panic.” — Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Panic says, “Do something now.” Faith says, “Be still and know.” Panic pushes; faith prays. Panic imagines the worst; faith remembers Who holds tomorrow. The Christian life is not an escape from waiting; it is the art of waiting well—with courage, with calm, with confidence in the character of Christ.

So let’s bring our weary waiting to the Word. James writes to believers who were battered by trials and tempted to throw in the towel. He does not shame their longing; he shepherds it. He ties their patience to God’s timing, calls their hearts to be strong, and paints a picture—a farmer fixed on the harvest—that helps us hang on when the winds are high. Can God grow peaches in a place that feels like a desert? Can He send rain to a soul that feels dry as dust? Yes. The God who numbers our hairs and names the stars knows the hour, hears the prayer, and will not waste the wait.

Here is the Scripture that will guide us:

James 5:7-8 (KJV) 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

“Be patient.” “Stablish your hearts.” “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” That is not wishful thinking; that is a weather report from heaven for the storms of earth. The sky is not silent. The Lord is at the door. While we wait, He works. While we water with our tears, He waters with His grace. And the harvest—precious, promised—will come.

Before we open our hearts to what God has for us in this text, let’s pray.

Opening Prayer: Father, we come as people who are tired of clocks and calendars and the ache of not yet. Steady our hearts. Teach us to wait without worry, to trust without trembling, to stand without slipping. Send Your early and latter rain on the fields of our lives. Where we are anxious, speak peace. Where we are impatient, shape perseverance. Where hope feels thin, thicken it with the truth of Your Word. Fix our eyes on the coming of the Lord, and make us faithful in the meantime—patient in our homes, steadfast in our work, gracious with our words. We believe You are near; help us live like it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Root your patience in God's timing

Patience grows when it takes its cues from God’s pace. We rush. We reach for quick fixes. James turns our eyes to a longer view. He speaks of seasons. He speaks of harvest. He speaks of a heart that can stand firm while days pass and nothing seems to move. That kind of steadiness does not come from willpower. It comes from trusting that God knows the right moment to act and the right way to bring things to life.

This is where strength begins. A settled heart. A heart that remembers who sets the times and the seasons. A heart that does not chase signs or force results. The text says to be patient and to be established. That means a kind of inner weight. A kind of holy ballast. You do not topple when the wind rises because your confidence sits in the One who knows the end from the start.

There is also a horizon in view. James ties patience to the Lord’s appearing. Hope has a date on God’s calendar. We do not know the day. We do know the direction. History is moving toward Him. That truth steadies the soul in long stretches of quiet work. You keep going because the King is near. You keep going because He will finish what He began.

The husbandman waits for fruit. He waits through stages. Early rain. Later rain. First growth. Fullness. The field does not answer to the farmer’s watch. The field answers to weather and water and time set by God. This picture helps us. Some things in your life are at seed stage. Some are sprouting. Some are swelling toward ripeness. Each stage has care assigned to it. Water here. Weed here. Watch here. Patience is seeing where you are and doing the work that fits the moment. No stage is wasted. No stage is forever. In the end there is fruit because God sends what the field needs when the field needs it.

Patience here is not sleep. It is attention. The farmer watches the sky. He knows his soil. He knows his tools. He knows what harms the crop. He moves with the season he is given. Our hearts can learn this. Pray without show. Obey the clear thing in front of you. Speak with grace. Keep your word. Rest when it is time to rest. Work when it is time to work. These are small acts. They look simple. They are the way patience breathes in daily life. James calls that being established. Firm hands. Quiet steps. Consistent care.

The nearness of the Lord changes how we count time. “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” That line is not meant to stir fear. It is meant to give courage. Help is at the door. Relief is not a dream. The Judge stands ready to set things right. When that hope fills your thoughts, delay loses its sting. Waiting becomes watchfulness. You lift your head. You keep your heart clean. You choose mercy. You forgive quickly. You bless those who test you. You do these things because you will see Him soon, and you want your life to look like His.

The fruit is called precious. That word speaks of value. A high price. The farmer endures long stretches because the yield is worth it. In the same way, God brings outcomes that are worth the wait. He grows character that holds under weight. He heals wounds that ran deep. He knits people together who could not stand each other before. He makes a witness out of a weak person. These things take time. They are not thin or small. They come out of long prayers, quiet tears, and a steady hope in God’s care. James wants us to see the worth, so we will keep going when the ground looks bare.

Strengthen your heart for the Lord's return

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