Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming (James 5:7).
Every June, my family vacations at my uncle’s cottage in Tennessee. While the cottage has the modern conveniences you’d expect, one convenience is missing. There is no ice maker in the refrigerator.
In order to have ice for a beverage, you must pour water into trays, place them in the freezer, and wait for the cubes to freeze.
Waiting helps us understand the meaning of patience.
To be patient is to wait for something to happen that hasn’t happened. Our trouble waiting shows us how unnatural patience is. But the wait, whether for ice to freeze or Jesus to return, teaches us an important lesson about trusting God’s plan and his timing rather than our own.
God even embedded waiting in redemptive history, as Israel had to wait a long time for the promised Messiah to be revealed.
Finally, the Messiah was born and fulfilled all the promises of grace in a most unexpected way. The cross wasn’t on anyone’s radar but the Lord’s. But that was the plan for setting us free from the bondage to sin’s curse. Now, we must wait for the risen Savior’s return. Although not in the timing nor according to the plan the people may have anticipated, God was faithful to fulfill his promises.
Just like waiting for ice to freeze is worth the wait, so is being patient, as we trust in God’s timing for all things – especially the return of Jesus.
Prayer:
Father, you know best. So, give me grace to wait well as I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith.