James 5:7-8

Two vultures are sitting on a tree branch. One turns to the other and says, “Forget patience, I’m going to kill something.” Christians are not vultures, and we do not have the option of killing something. James talks about patience while waiting for something good to happen. He uses farmers as an example. They are hoping for a good harvest. While they are hoping, they are also waiting for the rains that will make that harvest possible. They have no option but to wait; the rains are out of their control. Either the rains will come or they will not.

Christians spend much of their life waiting, hoping and praying for good things to happen. Just like the farmers, they should wait. Much of what happens in this life is out of our control. We cannot control the necessity to wait, but James wants us to know that we are in total control of how we choose to wait. He advises us to be patient and stand firm. While waiting for doors to open, standing firm means that we should not be kicking down doors.

Kicking down doors was a specialty of mine when I was younger. I would get impatient waiting on the Lord, and I would decide to make something happen. I was good at making things happen. Quite often, what I made happen seemed to be a good thing. Perhaps that is why it took me so long to learn that what I made happen was never as good as what the Lord had intended to bring about in his time. My impatience was causing me to settle for less than the best.

Many read verse eight as if James was talking about the second coming of Christ. If so, he was not accurate. Christ’s second coming was not near at all. I understand it differently. I paraphrase it as this “While waiting for something good to happen, be patient and stand still, the Lord is near and he will come through for you.”