Wait

James is truly an insightful book that I love. I have read that book many times, and every time I've read it, I learn something different. In chapter 5, James (who is also the author of James; easy way to remember…haha) talks about farmers.

James 5:7-8 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord, is near."

My first question was, why does the bible always bring up farmers as an example? According to back then, farming and farmers were a big thing. The thing that I thought was so cool is the waiting period farmers all have to go through. We would have never considered the amount of mental strength a farmer needs to keep their hopes lifted when it comes to growing crops, surviving those harsh weather conditions, and hoping to harvest. Farmers plant and nurture the crops, but they aren't always guaranteed a good harvest. Sometimes things may happen as the crops grow (droughts, severe weather conditions), and it's out of the farmers' control. Looking at this from a different perspective, farmers have a tremendous amount of faith, endurance, and patience. I am just mind blown by the fact that they are farmers of good faith.

Just like farmers have faith, endurance and patience…we also should portray a farmer. We live day by day, and sometimes things don't happen the way we would like them to happen. We do all these things, and by faith, someday, we will see the harvest being reaped. Even if you don't see a crop now, God is telling you just to be patient with his timing and keep doing what you are doing…and when the time comes…your harvest will be so much greater than what you had in mind.