Anticipate The Lord’s Coming

 

James instructs us in James 5:7-8, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

 

Life is filled with waiting. Have you ever been waiting on God’s answers to a situation, and grown weary? Have you ever wondered what God is doing during your wait in the waiting room of life? Maybe you’ve been waiting for your financial situation to turn around. For your prodigal child to return. For your spouse to see the error in their ways. Or, for your physical healing to come. Have you been praying the same prayer and wondered why God hasn’t answered or delivered you from your trial?

 

James’s reference to the early and late rains shows just how long farmers had to patiently wait. The early rains in Palestine arrive at the time of the fall planting season (October and November), the late rains just before harvesttime (March and April).

 

Applying the analogy to his readers, James exhorts us to be patient too. Just as a farmer waits patiently through the entire growing season for his crop, so also we are to wait patiently for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Paul also gives us hope while we await our coming Savior in  Philippians 3:20. He declares, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” As born-again believers we are citizens of heaven already, and we now “await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

For Christians, this waiting should be one of the defining features of our lives. There should be an otherworldly dimension to our existence. We are not to be consumed by, controlled by, constrained by, or riveted to earthly things while we await the Savior.

 

Paul declares in Romans 13:11-12, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” We are called to holy living in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ. Our spiritual armor is the light of God’s own holiness and purity, with which He desires us to be constantly clothed.

 

Our Lord’s imminent return should be the utmost incentive for living according to His will and for His glory.

 

Pastor Steve