Loading Content...
Share a Link to this Message
The link has been copied to your clipboard; paste it anywhere you would like to share it.
CloseMatt Nelson - September 3, 2023
Patience in Suffering
THE BOOK OF JAMES Patience in Suffering 9.3.23 We don’t mind waiting as long as we believe we are in control of the timing and the outcomes. Outline for James 5:5-12 Be patient; the Lord is coming. Be patient; God is accomplishing something in you. Be patient with each other. Be patient; God's promises are true. Be patient; the Lord is coming. Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. Be patient; God is accomplishing something in you. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Be patient with each other. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Be patient; God's promises are true. Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering…you have heard of Job’s perseverance. Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand. Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey
More Messages from Matt Nelson | Download Audio