Developing Patience
As many of you know – I am in the Army Reserve. There is a saying in the Army that has been around as long as I have been in the Army and I’m sure it was there long before I arrived. The saying is:
Hurry up and WAIT!
It seems there is a lot of waiting in the Army – but you know what? - There is a lot of waiting in life too – in fact life is full of waiting. As a child we wait to start school. Then we can’t hardly wait till we can get out. We go to college and we wait for graduate. We wait to find our first good job. We wait at stop lights. We wait in line at the store. We wait in the doctor’s office. And you know what – we hate to wait.
Did you know that when you go into a restaurant there are five distinct waiting points? Let me tell you what they are: Number one: You wait to be seated. Number two: You wait to place your order. Number three: You wait for the food to arrive. Number four: You wait for the bill and Number five: You wait for the change if you use cash or if you use a credit card you wait to sign the slip. There is a lot of waiting in a restaurant. No wonder the person who serves you is called a “wait-er” or a “wait-ress”. They assist you in waiting.
Today we are continuing our walk through the book of James. We have been dealing with – Living Life Wisely. Today we are going to find out how to develop patience. Our text for today is found in James chapter five – verses seven through twelve. Let’s go ahead and read those verses at this time:
"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment. James 5:7 - 12 (NKJV)
Today I want us to look at three questions about “Developing Patience”. They are:
I. WHEN should I wait?
II. WHY should I wait?
III. HOW should I wait?
Let’s look at the first question:
I. WHEN should I wait?
I think that there are three special times when all us of need an extra dose of patience. They are:
A. When circumstances are UNCONTROLLABLE
Did you know that a lot of your life in not in your control? There are a lot of things that you have no control of. What you do have control of is: “How I respond to the circumstances of life.” James uses the example of a farmer to prove his point. Follow along in verse seven with me:
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.” James 5:7 (NKJV)
Don’t become a farmer unless you have a lot of patience. Part of a farmer’s job – is waiting. They wait to till the soil – they wait to plant the seed – they wait to cultivate – they wait to harvest. There are many factors that are out of the farmer’s control – the economy, the price of fuel, and the greatest factor of them all – the weather. Rain – heat – drought – flood – frost. You have to have a lot of faith to be a farmer. You deal with a lot of uncontrollable factors in life.
Do you know how most people try to control the uncontrollable? They worry about it. Is anyone in here a worrier? We think that somehow by worrying – we can fix the situation. But to worry about something you can change is dumb – and to worry about something you can’t change is useless. Either way – to worry is senseless. We need to develop patience when situations are uncontrollable.
Next situation you need an extra dose of patience in is:
B. When people are UNCHANGEABLE
I have often heard that a man marries a woman – hoping she will never change. A woman marries a man – hoping he will.
Folks here is a fact: You can’t change people and you can’t keep people from changing. Can you influence them? Yes. Can you change them? No.
I have given many Army briefings to families where the soldier is getting ready to deploy. I talk about the consistency of relationships and the changes of relationships that come with a deployment. The statement I use is this:
“You can cross the same river a thousand times – but it is never the same water.”
The relationship of a marriage may be long lasting – but it is always changing. You can’t change people but you can’t keep them from changing. There are times when patience can be your only response.
The word for patience in the Greek is the combined word “macrothumos” – “macro” means “long” – “thumos” means “heat”. It literally means – putting up with the heat for a long time. In other words – the word means “endurance”. In dealing with people – there are a lot of situations where you must develop patience. The prophets needed a lot of patience because they were dealing with people who would not change. That is why James says:
“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.” James 5:10 (NKJV)
Another area where you need an extra dose of patience is:
C. When problems are UNEXPLAINABLE
James gives us the greatest example in the Bible of having patience when unexplainable circumstances happen to a person when he says:
“You have heard of the perseverance of Job…” James 5:11
Many translations use the word “patience” or “endurance” instead of the word “perseverance”.
If you remember the story of Job – he was a wealthy man – but in the period of two days he lost it all. Life for him fell apart. He lost all his wealth - he lost his health. His children were killed, and he developed sores from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, people who walked by him - just shook their heads and said: "Poor Job - what did he do to make God mad at him?" He was suffering physically, financially, and emotionally. God allowed Satan to test Job. The worst part of his suffering was that Job had no clue why he was suffering and God was not giving him any answers. For thirty seven chapters in the book of Job – God is silent – even when Job seeks an answer from God – God remains silent. Yet Job keeps looking to God for an answer anyway – he keep calling to God for an answer - he never gave up. That’s why James says: "Remember the patience of Job."
Folks I know that there are times when life does not seem fair – but who told you it would be? A lot of things in life just don’t make sense. You may never understand this side of heaven why things happen. Job never understood why bad stuff happens to good people – when he was going through his suffering. But with all the suffering – Job maintained his faith. Did he question God? Yes. Did he pray to God? Yes. Did he plead with God? Yes. Did he turn his back on God? No!
When circumstances are uncontrollable – when people are unchangeable – when problems are unexplainable you really need patience. That brings us to question two:
II. WHY should I wait?
We need to wait because it shows that we know:
A. God is in CONTROL
In verse seven James talks about, “the coming of the Lord.” In verse nine he says, “The Judge is standing at the door!”
Folks – God is in control and Jesus is coming back. Nothing can stop it – God says it is going to happen. God knows the end of history. He’s got it all planned out. Everything is on schedule. Nothing is late. God is in control. God’s timing is always perfect – He is never late – He is never tardy – nothing can stop His plans. Look at what the Psalmist tells us:
“The LORD’S plan stands firm forever. His thoughts stand firm in every generation.” Psalm 33:11 (GW)
I heard this story of Phillip Brooks, a famous pastor of the last century. One day he was in his office pacing the floor. He was frustrated. Someone walked into his office and asked, “What’s the matter pastor?” He responded, “I’m in a hurry and God isn’t.”
Remember – God is in control.
Why should I wait? We also need to wait because:
B. God REWARDS patience
Look at of verse eleven with me:
“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11 (NKJV)
Go ahead and circle the word “blessed”. It pays to be patient. There are all kinds of emotional and spiritual rewards for it. You’re less stressed, your character grows, you get along with people better, you’re happier. Look at what Matthew chapter five says:
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12 (NKJV)
When people put you down – when they criticize you – when they say all kinds of things against you – because you are following Jesus – be patient. Because God sees it and He will reward you for it. God knows your suffering – especially your suffering for Him.
That brings us to the third question:
III. HOW should I wait?
Let me give you three ways to wait:
A. Wait EXPECTANTLY
Remember James just told us the illustration of the farmer. The farmer is to wait – expecting a harvest. Folks – in life the harvest is inevitable. God’s word says – “You reap what you sow.” What does the farmer do while he’s waiting for the harvest? Does he just sit around his house watching TV? No! He gets his barns ready. He gets his combines ready. He prepares for the inevitable. Psalm One Hundred Thirty and verse eleven says:
“I wait eagerly for the LORD’s help, and in his word I trust.” Psalm 130:11 (GNB)
Folks this verse tells me that as I am waiting – I have to trust that God is going to do what He said He will do. God’s word says, “He will never leave you or forsake you.” Do you believe that? If you have given your life to God – He is going to take care of you. He has made you a promise. He may not take care of you in the way you think He should take care of you – but He will take care of you – nonetheless. As you’re waiting on Him – get your barns ready – get your harvesting equipment ready – prepare for the harvest – because the harvest is inevitable. Wait expecting that God is watching over you – because if you are a child of His – He is.
Also:
B. Wait QUIETLY
James points out that we have a tendency to blame others for our problems. Look again at what James told us in verse nine:
“Do not grumble against one another, brethren.” James 5:9
When problems come our way we look for a scapegoat. We try to find someone to blame. If we don’t start blaming we usually start complaining. We are in real trouble when we are blaming and complaining at the same time.
I heard about a lady who complained and griped to and about her husband all the time – constantly complaining – constantly griping. The husband died in his old age so the wife put on his tombstone, “Rest in Peace”. At the reading of the will she found out that her husband had left her only five dollars and had left the rest of his estate to a good friend of his. She went back and had the tombstone changed. Along with the words “Rest in Peace” she added “Till We Meet Again”.
What happens when you get uptight? What happens when you get frustrated – when things are just not going your way? How do you respond? James tells us that we are to wait expectantly, wait quietly and to:
C. Wait With CONFIDENCE
When Job experienced all of his problems – he asked two questions:
“Have I strength to go on waiting, or have I any end to be looking forward to?” Job 6:11 (BBE)
It turns out that Job had both the strength “to go on waiting” and an “end to look forward to”. With all the waiting – not knowing how things were going to turn out – Job endured – and in the end Job’s confidence in God increased. He set an example for all of us to follow. “You have heard of the perseverance of Job…”
Some of you right here – right now may be thinking – “I just can’t make it through another month”. Then put your trust in God – and make it through another week. You may say – “I just can’t make it through another week” – then I say, “Put your trust in God and you can make it through another day”. You may say – “I just can’t make it through another day” – then I say, “Put your trust in God and you can make it through another hour.” Because:
Inch by inch – life’s a synch.
Yard by yard – life is hard.
God is still in control – He is still on His throne. Folks I have read the end of the book. I know that what began with God – will end with God – I have put my trust in that fact. How about you?
Wait expectantly – wait quietly – wait confidently – and God will help you develop patience.
(Special thanks to Richard Warren for his sermon “How To Develop Patience” which inspired this sermon.)
