James 5:7-12

v7-8: Patience is one of the key lessons to learn in the Christian life. Waiting for the coming of the Lord is not easy, especially in the face of suffering and temptation. But consider how the farmer has to wait many months for the harvest to come. “Will not this teach you to bear a few storms and be patient for a season, since you are looking for a kingdom and eternal happiness?” If you are “called to wait a little longer than the farmer, is it not for something that is proportionately greater and infinitely more worth waiting for?”

v9: Jesus, “the great Judge, who will set everything right, who will punish evildoers and reward the good,” will return and this is certain and near. His coming “is now much closer than when this letter was written, nearer by hundreds of years,” and the effect of knowing this should be to be patient and to avoid quarrelling with other believers.

v10-11: How do we endure trials? “The best way to bear adversities is to look to their goal,” knowing that “God’s compassion is such that he will not delay bringing them to an end when his purposes have been fulfilled,” and He will have “great compassion on [you] while [you] are suffering.” We can be sure that “the tender mercy of God is such that he will abundantly make up” for all that we suffer as His people in this life.

v12: “Let it be enough for you simply to affirm or deny something as need be, and be sure to stand by your word and be true to it, so as to give no cause for suspicion of falsehood... Let it be known that you keep to the truth,” and “that you stand firmly by your word.”