James 5:7-8

"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.
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
James 5:7-8


I like where it says that the husbandman “hath long patience” … and, if we go with a common analogy in the scripture, the Lord is the husbandman, and we are the precious fruit, and he hath long patience, waiting for us to grow up well… it takes us a while to get it right sometimes. :)
Long patience is something that it is hard to have. Especially in our earthly lives, immediacy seems to be a high priority… we want things NOW, and sometimes a few years, or even a few hours, seems like a lifetime. In the second verse, it advises us to also be patient, and to stablish our hearts… I think the two are related. We’re working toward a solid base of being, where we don’t allow our hearts to go after whims, and we actually think and plan and listen and wait before taking action. It is hard to get there, because it is easy to fall in love with the newest computer, or the newest shoes, or the newest person… and it is hard to get our timing down. Often we respond too quickly, when if we had really thought and considered, we wouldn’t have spoken at all. Someone says something and we immediately react… defensively, or aggressively, or however, and then we find out later, that our reaction was inappropriate… a little thought and patience could have gone a long way. Today, let’s work on our patience. Not saying it is easy… but it is necessary if we want to get to that place where we’re calm and collected, and allowing the spirit to work with us.