August 31, 2025 - James 5:7 - "Patience Rooted in God's Grace in Christ"

James 5:7

"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."

The apostle calls the LORD'S people to a steadfast patience, not in their own strength, but resting upon the sovereign purpose of God. Just as the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, knowing it comes in due season by the LORD’s rain and sunshine, so the believer waits for Christ’s appearing, trusting that every trial and delay is governed by His sovereign hand. In sovereign grace, we are reminded that the same God Who planted His Word in our hearts will surely bring forth the harvest in His appointed time. Patience, then, is not passive, but a confident endurance rooted in the certainty that the LORD is faithful, and His promises cannot fail.

Patience is hard for us because by nature our hearts are restless and proud. Yet James directs our eyes away from ourselves and on to Christ. He does not say, “Endure in your own strength,” but “unto the coming of the Lord.” The call to patience is really a call to fix our gaze on Christ—Who has come, Who is with us now, and Who is coming again. Consider the picture James gives: “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” (James 5:7). The farmer waits for what he cannot yet see. In the same way, we wait for Christ, Who is the true harvest. He is the “precious fruit” for whom our souls long. Just as the farmer depends on rain from heaven, so we depend entirely on Christ’s grace poured out upon us.

When affliction comes, our comfort is this: Christ has already endured all things for His people. “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God » (Hebrews 12:2) . He bore the judgment we deserve, and now He reigns. To be patient is not to grit our teeth and wait—it is to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. James tells us, “Establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8). Christ is not far off. His coming is certain. He comes in judgment against the wicked, but for His people, His coming is salvation, mercy, and joy. Even now, He is near, upholding us in every trial, directing every circumstance for our good. Nothing touches us except through His hand.

Think of Job. His suffering was bitter, yet through it he confessed: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25). That Redeemer is Christ. Job’s Hope was not in relief from pain, but in the living Christ Who would stand for him. Think of David in Psalm 73. Troubled by the prosperity of the wicked, his heart was stirred to envy—until he entered the sanctuary and saw Christ, the true Priest, the true Offering for sin. Then he could say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee… God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever » (Psalm 73:25–26).

So when James says, “Be patient,” he means: look to Christ. Look to the One Who has loved you, Who has suffered for you, Who has redeemed you. Look to the One Who intercedes for you now, Who upholds you by His Spirit, and Who will soon come again for you. Whether at the end of time or in the lifetime of the believer, the LORD Jesus is coming for His own. "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

For those of us who are children of God by His electing grace, Christ Himself is our Patience, our Strength, and our Hope. So let us wait like the farmer, looking for the coming harvest. Let us endure with joy, knowing that “yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord" (James 5:7). And in that patience, let us rest in Christ—our Redeemer, our Portion, our coming King.