Patience
JAMES 5:7-12

Summary on “Patience”
What is patience?
What are the different varieties of patience?
Why is patience so difficult at times?
How is the virtue of patience developed?

What is patience?
Patience is “the quality of enduring pain, hardship, provocation, or annoyance with calmness”. Calm willingness to tolerate delay.  
Perseverance is “steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.”
Endurance is “the act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress.”
“Long-suffering” – is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish; it’s the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy, and is used of G

Did you know that Patience and Gentleness are closely associated virtues?
Phil 4:5 “Let your gentleness be evident to all”
To be gentle is to even-tempered, humble and compassionate towards others. It means keeping our emotions in check and staying calm even in the most difficult situations. It takes great spiritual strength to remain gentle and quiet on the inside even in the midst of pressure and turmoil outside.
A gentle person doesn’t stir up drama, point out other’s mistakes, but is considerate of the needs of others and makes allowance for their mistakes, and gives them the benefit of the doubt.
They don’t want to have the last word and are not afraid to admit they are wrong.

How is the virtue of patience developed?
JAMES 5:7-12

1: Patience is the fruit of the spirit

Since patience (or longsuffering) is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, it goes without saying that we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit to develop patience in us.
It’s an “inside job” once you are saved and are walking in the spirit. Galatians 5:22 (Makrothumia – Greek for “long & temper”).
The more you “know God personally”, not just “know of God”, the more you become patient because of the Holy spirit’s presence. Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit will remind us of all the Lord Jesus said (John 14:26).

2: You learn patience from what you suffer or experience.

Trials develop patience. If there is no test, there is no real patience.
Heb 5:7-9 Jesus learnt obedience from what He suffered – even though He was the Son of God…
James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.“ Rom 5:3-5
Job endured the loss of his possessions, his children, his health, and his wife’s support, but he took it patiently. Job 2:9-10 Job knew God had control over his situation and his suffering. He had the patience to wait for the unfolding of God’s plan, going so far as to say, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15).

Learn to look at the ultimate model of a patient man – the Lord Jesus Christ.
Patience is “part of our calling as Christians.” There is a heavenly purpose for patience.
Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:20-24; 2 Tim 3:12
“What did Christ’s patient suffering produce?”
Persecution can affect a Christian’s feelings or his family, reputation, property, liberty or influence. It may deprive him of an office or position he held or prevent him from obtaining one for which he is qualified. He could be subjected to a fine, imprisonment, banishment, torture or death. Every experience has a purpose.

Patience and experience… 
It’s been said that nothing teaches like experience.  (James 1:2-4). 
Misfortunes are designed to build virtue in us, and among the virtues gained through difficulty is patience.
“Pampered bodies grow sluggish through sloth; not work but movement and their own weight exhausts them. Prosperity unbruised cannot endure a single blow, but a man who has been at a constant feud with misfortunes acquires skin calloused by suffering; he yields to no evil and even if he stumbles carries the fight on upon his knee”.
We get tested everyday in the area of our strength, our weakness or pride. See Moses who was the meekest (most patient) man on earth – he failed in the area of his greatest strength.

3: Train yourself to overlook wrong.We have to work out conflicts with others.

Jesus learnt obedience in what He suffered – even though He was God Heb 12:3; I Pet 2:23. So we also must learn this virtue – Col 3:12-13;
Romans 12:18 ”If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”.
Prov 19:11”The discretion of a man deferred his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression”
Prov 12:16 – “Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult”
Prov 14:29 – “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly”
Prov 15:18 –  ”A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.”

4: Waiting on God helps develop patience. Patience is often linked with hope.

Patience is often linked with hope. If there is no hope that our situation will change, then there is no incentive to endure suffering and no power for patience. Hope empowers patience. Rom 5:3-5
The Bible speaks of two kinds of hope when it comes to patience:
The hope of fulfillment—that is, the expectation that God will come through on His promises.
The hope of deliverance—that is, the expectation that God will rescue us from our sufferings, that there will be a Day of Judgment when evil is punished, and justice is done.
Rom 8:25; Heb 10:36; 2 Cor 4:17 – We all need to learn to wait on God

We must learn to think before speaking or acting!Control your tongue..
JAMES 1:19

Patience is not optional for a Christian
WHY?
13

1 We must understand that patience is both a command and a gift of God.

As with all Christian virtues, we are commanded by God to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, of which patience is a vital part. In fact, this is a critical test of Christian authenticity. True Christian character, the very evidence of regeneration, is seen in authentic patience.
“walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1–3).
Paul set the example for Timothy: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim. 2:24–25).

2 Christian virtue of patience is rooted in our knowledge of ourselves as redeemed sinners. 

Knowing our own weakness, and all too aware of our own faults, we must deal with other Christians out of humility rather than pride. The Christian has no excuse for responding to fellow believers in a spirit of arrogance, haughtiness, or superiority. Gal 6:1-3; 1 Jn 5:16; James 3:2; 2 Thess 3:11-15; 2 Tim 2:25; 1 Peter 3:15
Patience presents the Christian with a critical test of character, rooted in the simple acknowledgement that we might be wrong. When Christians engage in disputes, it is possible to be wrong while being right. 

3 Christian patience is grounded in the fact that God is potentially still working on the person you are impatient at.

We must respond to fellow believers as those who, like ourselves, are sinners saved by grace, and that God is still working on them like us. Thus, we must show grace to one another.
Even as we seek to convince, to instruct, and even to correct, we must remember that only God can reach the human heart, and we must maintain the confidence that God is at work in those who are fellow partakers of His grace. 2 Tim 2:25-26

Learn to identify the triggers for impatience
Margaret Thatcher once famously remarked: “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”
Notice how impatience arises in your heart when you are not getting your way – especially when people or the environment are not conforming to our expectations, even in circumstances that we have no control over.
Expectations not been met often trigger impatience: We expect the environment to conform to our expectations. We expect people to conform to our expectations. They ought to behave the way we think they should behave.
Unfortunately, our expectations are often unrealistic.

Lessons from James 5:7-12

We need patience when we face difficulty
Lesson 1 – “See how the farmer waits” – James 5:7: the believer who is facing hostility must demonstrate a willingness to wait for vindication – like a farmer waits for the rain, we have to learn to wait for the Lord’s return or intervention and not get upset with difficult circumstances. Heb 6:15
Lesson 2 – James 5:8: This waiting is not to be passive (just sitting around waiting for God to intervene) – but we need to strengthen and make firm our inner lives while waiting. 2 Cor 6:3-13

We need patience when we face disappointment
James 5:9 – When we are disappointed, we often grumble or complain or lash out at others because of what we are dealing with (read other bible translations). It is easier to complain about the role others have played or not played when we face disappointment. We all know how to blame.
Lesson: James is talking about how we are to act when we are facing difficulty or disappointing situations. When we blame, it shows we are not depending on God, but others around us. Lev 19:18; Matt 6:14

We need patience when we face disapproval or condemnation
See the examples of those who faced disapproval in the bible, so you do not lose heart. James 5:10-11 – Job; David and Saul; Moses and Israel
Lesson: The prophets suffered not because they did wrong but because they were doing right. They were disapproved by their people and persecuted for their testimony. At times you may suffer not because you have done anything wrong to deserve it, but God wants you to endure.
James 1:6-7; 4:12-13; Matt 5:10-12; Acts 7:52
Trials produce durability and maturity

We need patience when we face disaster
Hupomeno in Greek means “steadfast endurance.” See Job’s example James 5:11
Longsuffering (makrothumia) usually describes the attitude that a person manifests when pressured by other people; while patience (hupomena) usually denotes the response to circumstances.
See Job’s reaction to multiple negative reports in 1:14-19; 19:25-27; 42:5-6, 10-13; James 1:4

We need patience when we face dishonesty
James 5:12; Matt 5:33-37; 23:16-22
People are dishonest today. They lie to you and don’t keep promises and expect you to still stay there waiting on them.
How do deal with people who swear an oath and don’t keep it?