James 5:7‏

7. "So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains."

Moving from the error of hating wealthy people, now James turns to what kind of attitude we should rather have. The Holy Spirit is well aware that there are trials and there is suffering and there is even persecution but nonetheless we are to be patient. But what are we patient for and what is and how can we "be" patient?

James says, the farmer waits, that's how it is if you're a farmer, you plant and then you wait. And that conveys the idea of looking expectantly for something outside of ones "self"...that's the Greek use of the word, wait. He looks for a crop to come up... and the harvest really depends on the forces God has set into motion. It depends on God bringing together all of the right components to make the crop good. And what's he waiting for? Look at it, the precious fruit. Precious means valuable. He depends on it for his existence. It may well be that if he's a small farmer and it's precious to him, that's a good indication that that's all he had. Well, friends... Faith is like a seed the Farmer planted. An really... at the end of the day, it's all we have. But unlike the farmer, faith has already been planted and our patience is for the fruit... not the planting. Now, about this patience...

Let's pick up with James verse 5:8 next time.

I love you.