James 5:7-11
Dear Friends in Christ, Patiently Awaiting Our Savior’s Return,
The story’s told of a poor woman who lived in Atlanta, Georgia. She never really had much to call her own during her lifetime. On top of that, she had to endure a disease that brought her a great deal of pain and suffering. Although she may have been poor by the world’s standards, she was rich in God’s eyes, because she firmly trusted in her Savior for salvation. Knowing she was a woman of great faith, her friends found themselves hoping that the Lord would call her home, sparing her from any more pain. As her time grew short, one of them asked her, “Are you ready to go?” With a little smile forming across her wrinkled face, she replied, “I’m ready to go, but willing to wait.”
That’s a good picture of what it’s like for us as Christians living here on this earth. We know the day is coming when our Lord will come and take us to be with him. Since we know that that day will be the beginning of our eternal happiness in heaven above, having to live out our days here on this earth can seem quite difficult. And yet our Lord doesn’t want us to be lulled asleep while we anticipate his return. Instead, you might say that God wants us to be ready to go, but willing to wait.
That’s the lesson of our text for this morning, the lesson of this Advent season:
“Be Ready to Go But Willing to Wait!”
I. Expect the Lord to come
II. Endure whatever may come
James begins this chapter of his letter with a warning to a group of rich people who had become wealthy primarily by cheating others. The verse before our text tells us that these people had even been led to commit murder because of their greed and selfishness. Now, in the words before us this morning, James speaks to those who were on the other side of the coin — those who were suffering at the hands of these greedy men.
As much as they may have wanted to, James urges these people not to take matters into their own hands by seeking revenge on those who had taken advantage of them (v 7), “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.” Wait for the Lord to come! He will bring the ultimate judgment upon those who were afflicting them. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. James tells them to sit tight and wait for the Lord’s return.
Why are we as Christians so certain that the Lord is going to come again? Because that’s what the angels said would happen after Jesus ascended into heaven. They told his disciples (Ac 1:11), “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Dare we ever doubt the Lord or his holy angels? The early church didn’t. Many of the early Christians believed Jesus would return during their lifetime. There was a sense of urgency as they prepared themselves for that day. That same sense of urgency was also evident in their mission work. They believed that their Lord was coming, and that he was coming soon. And they wanted others to know about it before it was too late.
Do we today have that same sense of urgency as we wait for the Lord? In our text James says (v 8), “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” Don’t be caught off guard. We have a tendency to think that the Lord’s coming is quite a ways down the road, that since so much time has already passed, there is still much more time to pass until he comes again. We conclude, “Hey, he hasn’t come for almost 2000 years! What are the odds he’ll be here tomorrow?” Don’t doubt his Word! Don’t take a chance and gamble, because it could cost you your soul! Jesus promised (Jn 14:3), “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me.” And think about it — even if Jesus doesn’t come during our lifetime, death will. In either case, one day we all will have to stand before our God. We have to be ready. Expect the Lord to come!
So how does our Lord want us to wait for his return? He wants us to be patient, like a farmer awaiting the harvest (v 7b), “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.” All a farmer can do is plant and wait. He can’t do anything to speed up the harvest. The October and November rains were needed to soften the ground and give the grain a head start, while the spring rains of April and May were needed to help that grain mature. But the farmer couldn’t make those rains come. He could only sit back and wait patiently for the crop’s arrival.
The lesson here? We are to do the same when it comes to the Lord’s return. As James Montgomery writes in his Advent hymn (TLH 59:3), “He shall come down like showers Upon the fruitful earth, And joy and hope, like flowers, Spring in His path to birth.” Yes, we are to “be patient and stand firm.” To “stand firm” actually means to “strengthen your hearts.” Be ready for the Lord by asking the Holy Spirit to strengthen your hearts by strengthening the faith in your hearts. Do this by clinging to his precious Word. Hear it often! Take advantage of the extra services offered this time of year. Come to the Lord’s Supper often to be personally reminded that the Lord who is coming again has already come and has given his body and blood for your salvation. Take the extra time on Sunday mornings so your children can attend Sunday School and so you can grow in your knowledge of the Word in our Bible Class. Make time for that Word in your homes. Read your Meditations. Be in the Word so you can wait patiently for the Lord to come!
Everyone of us here this morning could use a little more of that virtue known as patience. When patience is lacking, James warns us of the inevitable result (v 9), “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” Are the holidays stressing you out? Tired of battling the crowds and the traffic? Does it seem like the expectations at work are even higher this time of year? Does the thought of having all the kids home from school for the Christmas vacation strike fear in your hearts? How are you handling the pressure? Do you find yourself slowly boiling over, snapping at your spouse and the kids, complaining about your coworkers and all the little things that bug you at work? Is your Christmas turning out to be anything but merry?
We find it so easy to blame everyone but ourselves for our foul moods. James warns us to put aside our grumbling. When we grumble and complain about each other, we’re actually judging one another. Only God has the right to do that. Advent is a time for waiting, a time to repent and to get rid of the ill will that may be building up inside of us. Don’t be pulled down with the rest of the world around you! Instead, wait patiently for your Lord to come!
We wait with patient expectation, just like children wait for the day to come when those Christmas presents finally will be theirs to reveal. Until then we have to endure and count the days. We wait for our Lord to come, but in the meantime, God gives us the strength to endure whatever may come.
We learn such endurance from looking at the lives of the prophets (v 10), “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” James doesn’t mention any names here, but he doesn’t have to. We know what the prophets went through. Jesus noted their endurance “from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah” (Mt 23:35). Just before he was stoned to death Stephen made the same point by asking (Ac 7:52), “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?” Historians record that James himself knew of such unrelenting endurance in the face of suffering. He was believed to have been cast down from the top of the Temple and beaten to death with a club.
Jesus never promised his children eternal happiness here on this earth. We also can expect to suffer, to endure “many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Ac 14:22). Jesus tells us very simply (Jn 16:33), “In this world you will have trouble” (so much for the TV preachers who promise otherwise!). Again Jesus says to us (Jn 15:20), “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
So what do we do? We do what Job did — we endure by persevering (v 11), “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.” When the devil brought suffering into his life, Job didn’t turn away from God — he turned to him. His confidence continued to rest in the Lord and in his promises. In faith Job could still proclaim (Job 19:25,26), “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” Job believed his Lord would come first to save the world and then again to judge the world. He believed he would live again because the Lord promised him he would. He persevered, and his faith saw him through all his earthly troubles.
God blesses all those who endure. Why? “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (v 11). You can endure because God cares about you! He knows what you’re going through (1 Co 10:13), “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful: he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” When the heat gets to be too much for us, the Lord pulls us out of the fire. The sufferings he allows us to endure always serve his purpose. That’s why we can look at them with the same attitude of the apostle Paul (Ro 5:3-5), “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us.” When we endure hardships while waiting for the Lord, we’re drawn that much closer to him. The more we’re brought down to our knees the more we recognize how much we need our Savior. Through him we receive the strength we need to endure.
Our sufferings also help us to stay focused on what’s most important — our eternity. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus reminds us (Mt 5:11,12), “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” Wait for the Lord, for the best is yet to come!
Meanwhile endure the attacks of this world with the weapons God provides. When a soldier is confronted by the enemy, he doesn’t throw away his shield and sword. They become that much more important to him. When we’re faced with tribulations and suffering in this world, how foolish it would be for us to go it alone without our trusty Shield and Weapon! We don’t go into battle alone! We endure with the almighty Word of God! We know that through that Word the victory already has been won by our Lord! Trust in him, and then you’ll be able to wait for his return with unrelenting endurance!
There’s a familiar poster which pictures a kitten clinging to a small rope by a single claw. Below the picture of that dangling kitten, in what seems to be an almost hopeless situation, are the words, “Hang in There!” How much more we have to hang onto as Christians! We have the enduring Word of our God! We have the promise of our Savior’s return! We have all we need to endure whatever may come until Jesus comes again!
The Advent season teaches us patience. As kids my brothers and I spent days exploring those packages under the tree. We knew exactly which ones were ours. We even planned which ones we would open first. When the big day finally came, Mom and Dad would still delay things by making the four of us take turns in opening our presents. We were ready to go, but not all that willing to wait!
Sometimes we feel that way when it comes to waiting to join our Lord in heaven. But understand this — God has a reason for each of us being here on this earth. He has work for us to do. When it’s time for us to go, he’ll come for us. In the meantime, we wait — patiently! And our prayers echo the thoughts of the hymn-writer (CW 9:5), “Teach us in watchfulness and prayer To wait for your appointed hour, And fit us by your grace to share The triumph of your conqu’ring pow’r.” Be ready to go but willing to wait! And while we wait, let’s share what we’re waiting for! Let’s share Jesus!
Amen
—Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff