Do you like to suffer? My guess is not. Do you like to have to wait patiently? Probably not that either. What is it about suffering that turns us away from it? Why are we so impatient? Is it simply our nature? Or have we morphed into it? Is it something our culture has taught us?
I suspect people of every age have had an aversion to suffering. Enduring pain is not something anyone seeks out. However, we can endure it when we know there is a purpose in it. Military training often includes some form or another of suffering. Yet, there is reason for it.
Patience, on the other hand, is a virtue we could all use in our lives. Though I’m sure there were impatient people in previous centuries, I suspect their impatience was not quite to the extreme we see in our world today. They didn’t have the machines nor Google or Amazon. They had to wait for many of life’s necessities.
James tells his audience to look at the prophets as an example of suffering and patience. The prophets were often suffering from persecution, often from the kings they were prophesying to and against. Their message from God was not popular. They were also very patient. They knew the visions God gave them were not for them but the future. They knew they would not see them fulfilled but continued to believe God would fulfill them anyway.
We may not be required to suffer in the same way the prophets did, but we may suffer from persecution in that our friends may abandon us because we speak out for God. We need to be patient. Though we may say that God works in his time, we often don’t want to wait for him. Yet, when we wait patiently for God to act, we are rewarded handsomely. We discover God had something so much better in mind than we could imagine.
I pray we all are willing to suffer for the good news of Jesus. I pray we follow the example of the prophets. I pray each one of us learn to be patient, waiting for God to work in our lives. Be willing to suffer for Jesus. Be like the prophets of old. Patiently wait for God.
James 5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Marty Pressey 