TWO EXAMPLES OF PATIENT ENDURANCE
James
(Some of this material has been taken
from and inspired by John Piper’s The
Roots of Endurance and The Hidden Smile of God)
INTRODUCTION The late Dr. Albert Schweitzer, famous medical
missionary, was once asked what is the best way to raise children. He replied,
“There are three ways: by example, by example, and by example.” What he said
about child rearing is also true about growing as a believer. We all need
examples to follow, especially when we face trials. Jonathan Edwards, in his
preface to the journals of the great missionary David Brainerd wrote, "There are two ways of representing and recommending
true religion and virtue to the world; the one, by doctrine and precept; the
other, by instance and example." James has been commanding us to
patience and endurance in the midst of trials. The
urgent theme of patiently enduring trials runs throughout the Bible. Hebrews 10:36, “For
you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you
may receive what was promised.”(Read Revelation 2:25; 14; 12; Matthew 24:13; 2
Timothy 2; 12, 3; 14; Ephesians 6:13; Philippians 4; 1; 2 Thessalonians 2; 15;
3:13) The assumption behind all of these texts is that the Christian
life is exceedingly hard and therefore we need patience and endurance. The
command to be patient and to endure is a radically God centered, Christ
exalting, Spirit-dependent, promise-supported life. This is James’ theme
here. As well as words of command,
encouragement, and exhortation, James being a good communicator also mingles
into these section three examples of people who in differing circumstances illustrate
what James is saying about the virtues of patient endurance. He has already
used the example of the farmer for patience in verse 7,
but now he gives us real life-models of the prophets and Job who had to
patiently endure.
I. WHEN SUFFERING FOLLOW THE
EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHETS WHO PATIENTLY ENDURED (verse 10-11a). James
draws their attention to the prophets and their patient behavior in verse 10 and their endurance in verse 11. We are continually soaking in what we see
and hear. The things we learn or admire often become the impetus for our
actions and reactions. So James does not suggest, but commands that we follow
the example of patient ones. The OT prophets are a prototype of what we
Christians should aspire to be with respect to undeserved suffering and
patience; they are our model and example. Should those examples intimidate us?
I don't think so. Too often we are given examples like this--we are told to
have patience like the prophets and endurance like Job--and we figure that is
like being asked to play golf like Tiger Woods or like being asked to sing like
Mariah Carey. But this is not the case.
The prophet Jeremiah, who could not understand what God was doing, asked God, "Why has my pain been perpetual . . . Will You continue
to be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is
unreliable?"(Jer.15:18). Jeremiah had the audacity to equate
Almighty God with "a deceptive stream"! The prophet Elijah is also
well-known for his complaining (1Kings19). And
even Job grumbled, complained, and self-righteously proclaimed his innocence
before God. Yet these men are our
examples--they are examples of patience and endurance because they persevered
by the supernatural grace of God. Even when their outward circumstances caused
them to complain against and doubt God they remained faithful. Complain, they
did, but they refused to throw in the towel. They never gave up. The example of
the prophets is about men who in their weakness lived on God. Their example is
an example of the glory of God’s providence and grace working and manifest in
the lives of sinful, impatient, flawed, and broken men and women. He intends
for us to consider their lives and peer through he imperfections of their faith
and see the beautiful glory of His grace dimly mirrored through the lives of
His flawed servants as they patiently endured trials and suffering. He intends
for us to consider their lives as they depended upon His power and help to
patiently endure and to peer through the imperfections of their faith and
behold the beauty of their God. “Remember your leaders,
those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of
life, and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7).
He wants us to be “imitators of those who
through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). Oh the
boundless resources in scripture for our endurance! Consider the tremendous
scope of Romans 15:4, “For
whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that
through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope.” What this verse says is that everything written in the bible was
put there by God for the sake of our endurance-that no matter what our
suffering, we might not lose hope but be encouraged to press on in our faith. He
repeats the same theme with reference to
1. They Are A Model Of What To Expect. James speaks of these prophets as those, “who
spoke in the name of the LORD.” Somewhere, we’ve gotten the naïve idea
that if we follow the Lord and serve Him, He will protect us from all trials. We
modern Christians have come to see safety, ease, security, comfort, and a pain
free, trouble free existence as a right! As a result we strive hard to order
our lives away from stress and towards comfort, safety, and pain relief. It
never occurs to some that choosing discomfort, stress, and danger might be the
right thing-even the normal biblical thing to do. The demands for us to be
Christians living in the 21st century will probably prove to be a
rude awakening to such folks. Read the scriptures! One way or another, Christ
will bring His church to realize: Acts 14:22, “through
many tribulations we must enter the
2. They Are A Model Of How To Endure. James tells us that
as they suffered, they did it with patient endurance. In verse 10 that these prophets faced their suffering
with “patience” (makrothumos). We have seen this word the last three
weeks as we looked at verses 7-8. And in verse 11
they remained steadfast (hupomone).” In short, the prophets
patiently endured by waiting on the Lord. They obediently submitted to the
place God has them and obediently adapted to the pace that God was moving. The
prophets waited on the Lord when persecuted! So must we! We are soft and thin
skinned. We are worldly; we fit far too well into this God ignoring culture. We
are fearful, anxious, and easily discouraged. Oh how we need to have the
attitude of a Jeremiah who in the middle of persecution and affliction could
write the amazing words, “The Lord’s loving kindnesses
indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I
have hope in Him” (Lam. 3:22-24).
Jeremiah knew that if God is your portion, you have it all, though you
have nothing else. Jonathan Edwards says, “How great is the happiness of those who have chosen the
Fountain of all good, who prefer him before all things in heaven or on earth,
and who can never be deprived of him to all eternity!” When a
believer endures severe trials and even faces death with that attitude, God is
glorified. “The aim of all our endurance is that
Christ be seen and savored in the world as our glorious God.” What is God’s assessment
of them now? Do we consider that they are to be pitied? Not at all! As James
rightly says, these are the very people `we consider blessed'. The smile and
approval of God was on them in the midst of the frown and disapproval of man. But
we are called to do more than that. James points to the experience of these
heroes as `an example' and an example is to be copied, not just complimented.
If they suffered so much and were persecuted so greatly, yet endured so courageously,
should we not be encouraged to bear our smaller burdens with -the same resolute
faith? The implication is clear: you too will be blessed if you remain
firm to the end (James 1:12).
II. WHEN YOU FACE TRIALS FOR NO APPARENT
REASON, CONSIDER JOB AND TRUST IN GOD’S COMPASSION AND MERCY (verse 11). The
prophets offer us a great example of patience, but the quintessential
illustration of patience is Job. James is saying, think about Job’s story
often! Job was a blameless and upright man, who feared God and turned away from
evil (Job 1:1). To be blameless did not imply
perfection, but that he was a man of integrity. Job was also very rich, with
large herds of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys, along with many servants. He
had seven sons and three daughters. Satan appeared before God and God brought
up Job as an example of an upright man. Satan responded that Job only trusted
God because He had blessed and protected him. So to prove that Job was not
upright just for the benefits; God gave Satan permission to do whatever he
chose, as long as he didn’t lay a hand on Job himself. Satan went out and
deprived Job of all his possessions. Worst of all, he sent a powerful wind that
knocked down the house where Job’s children were gathered, killing all ten of them.
Job’s remarkable response was to fall before God in worship, saying in Job 1:21b, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.” The author adds in verse 22, “Through all this
Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Satan returned to God and gained
permission to go farther, as long as he spared Job’s life. So he smote him with
painful boils from head to toe. At this point, Job’s poor wife had had enough.
She advised him to curse God and die. But Job responded in 2:10, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we
indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” Again the author adds,
“In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Then Job’s three “friends”
show up, supposedly to comfort him. The rest of the book chronicles their
misguided arguments that the reason for his suffering was some hidden sin in
his life. Job defended himself, demanding an audience with God, who seemed to
be hiding Himself. After a fourth friend appears and corrects the first three,
as well as confronts Job, God does appear. He calls Job to account by running
through a description of His mighty power in creation. After Job properly
repents, God graciously restores Job’s health and his fortune, and He gives him
ten more children. God blessed Job’s latter days more than the early days,
allowing him to live to see his grandchildren to the fourth generation. There
are two lessons here that I can only touch on:
1. The submission required for endurance is
bound up with a firm belief in God’s sovereignty over all things. James refers to “the Lord’s dealings” with Job.
Although it was Satan who worked behind the scenes to take Job’s property and
to kill his children, Job affirmed that it was God: “the
Lord has taken away” (Job 1:21); “Shall we accept good from God and not accept
adversity?” (Job 2:10). John Bunyan, commenting on 1 Peter 4:19 (“Therefore, those also who suffer according to
the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what
is right”) said, “God has appointed who shall suffer. Suffering comes not by
chance or by the will of man, but by the will and appointment of God” If
you deny or ignore this truth, as many do, you destroy the foundation for
endurance in trials.
2. God’s sovereignty over all things implies
that He has a loving and good sovereign purpose that He is accomplishing. Charles Spurgeon, who suffered greatly, begins a
sermon on this verse by saying, “We are far too apt to entertain hard thoughts
of God” We must not allow men or devils to persuade us to think ill of God-that
God is cold, uncaring, and unloving.
James wants us to see the outcome of Job’s suffering. The word
for purpose, telos means goal not
just result. God has a design in our suffering in His place of our suffering
and His pace in our suffering. All of Job’s sufferings sing in unison that God
governs the world and all that happens with purpose and design for the good of
those who love Him. Even Job himself said, “I know that
You can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job
42:1-2) Oh how important is it that we see that there is a goal
for endurance. Endurance means endurance for something. There is a destination
as well as a journey. This is why James says, “you have
seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
James coined a new special word polusplagchnos to speak of God’s
character. Literally, very, very, compassionate, abounding or full of tender
compassion. To this James adds mercy. God is full of compassion as He cares for
us in our misery, and He is full of mercy as He forgives us for our sins. It was God’s purpose in all of His dealings with
Job for Job to see God as He really was and is. We saw this in John 11. The
most loving thing that God can do is enable us to see Him and enjoy Him. That
was Job’s ultimate blessing and is ours! All of which says to those who
are going through hardships: God is good! If that is the lesson from Job’s
sufferings, then it certainly applies to our lesser sufferings. The power of
patience flows from faith in this truth: In all of God’s dealings with us His
goal is full of compassion and mercy. Against our feelings and against the
temptations of the devil, we must affirm by faith, as the psalmist did (Ps. 119:68), “You are good and do good.” And (Ps. 119:71),
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.”
CLOSING THOUGHTS The afflictions of the prophets and Job were not for
naught. Like a pebble that falls into a pond and sends its waves outward till
they are invisible, all we have to do is look around same grace in this room
and see that the waves are still going outward. The pebbles didn’t drop in
vain-neither in their lifetimes, nor in the centuries that have followed. God
has breathed on the waters and has made their ripples into waves. And this
morning the parched places of our lives are being watered with the memories of
God glorifying, perseverance providing, sustaining grace and the present
availability of the same grace for our troubled lives. Oh Lighthouse, let the
life and ministry of men and women whose God-centered, Christ-exalting,
Cross-focused perseverance inspire you to press on through hardship. This is
not an easy time to be a Christian. It is not meant to be. But we are not left
without help. The Bible centers on a crucified, risen, compassionate, merciful,
and reigning Christ and is full of promises for every crisis. And history of
God’s people is full of empowering examples of those who proved that the grace
of God is sufficient to enable us to endure to the end and be saved! May you
run and finish well for the glory of Christ!