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God, Give Me Patience — Right Now! James 5:7-11

Lesson 10

Although we sense that patience is a good thing, it is painful for us to develop. (When is the last time you had to wait an hour for something?) And yet James tells us that it is a necessary character trait if we are to live for God.

What Does It Say? e patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! A couple who had been missionaries for 50 years finally returned home to New York in the 1960’s, and happened to be on the same plane with the Beatles. The old couple had to fight their way through the crowds thronging the band, and no one met them at the airport or was there to help them move into their small apartment. Finally the man could stand it no longer and said, “What gratitude! The whole city turns out for them, and no one comes for us. It’s like no one cares what we did.” “That’s not true”, his wife replied, “We'’re just not home yet.”

What Does It Mean? “Patience is the greatest of all shock absorbers. The only thing you can get in a hurry is trouble." “patience” comes from the Greek word makrothymia, which is a combination of 2 words: “long” + “heat”, so that patience means “long before it gets heated”. Would someone describe you as a patient person? Who comes to your mind when you think of patience? When does James say we can stop being patient? Do a word study of patience by looking up patient or patience in a concordance. When does the New Testament tell us to be patient? “Patience is that capacity for self-control despite circumstances that might arouse the passions or cause agitation. This is not so much a trait as a way of life. We keep on loving or forgiving despite provocation.” -- (Larry Richards) How does verse 9 relate to the previous verses, or does it?

"The 2nd Coming of Jesus is the arrival of the King; it is God appearing to his people and mounting his eternal throne; it is God directing on the world the full blaze of his heavenly glory." William Barclay 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 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. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. "Patience is always used in reference to people. Endurance is used in connection with circumstances, describing the person who does not collapse under suffering. One endures circumstances; one is patient with people." Gary Vanderet

There are 3 New Testament words for Jesus’ 2nd coming. Look up at least some of the occurances and make note of the context surrounding them... 1. “parousia” = someone’s arrival, or army’s invasion of a country, or king’s visit to a province of his empire (Matt 24:3,27,37,39, 1 Thess 2:19; 3:13;4:15;5:23, 2 Thess 2:1, 1 Cor 15:23, 1 John 2:28, 2 Pet 1:16,3:4) 2. “epiphaneia” = appearance of god to a worshipper, or accession of emperor to imperial power of Rome (Titus 2:13; 2 Tim 4:1; 2 Thess 2:9) 3. “apokalupsis” = unveiling, or laying bare of God’s power & glory (1 Pet 1:7,13) “perseverance” comes from the Greek word hypomeno, “to remain under”. Are you in a situation right now that you wish you could get out of, but God may want you to remain under for awhile? (See how Paul dealt with a similar predicament in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.) What do the following verses say about perseverance? Romans 5:3,4 Hebrews 10:35,36 James 1:3,4