Life’s Trials Should Produce Patience in Us
Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. — Psalms 27:14
Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. — James 1:3
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: As we go through trials, we can have spiritual joy even when we do not feel happy. Like an athlete who trains to grow stronger, we know that hardship can prepare us for something greater. The testing of our faith produces patience, which is essential for spiritual growth, for dealing with those who offend us, and for persevering when things do not go as we hope. That patience also sustains us as we await Christ’s coming. We do not know when he will come; God has his own timing and is patient as his purposes are fulfilled. While we wait, we should strengthen our hearts, work, and do all we can here on Earth, leaving his coming in God’s hands.
When the apostle James says that we should consider it a joy to find ourselves in various trials, he is not necessarily suggesting that we rejoice in the emotional sense of the word. Rather, the joy he describes in this passage is a joy of the spirit.
It is the joy of an athlete who, while in agony as he runs and prepares for a race, rejoices in an almost objective way because he is expanding his capacity, strengthening his muscles, and preparing himself better for the victory he hopes to achieve in the next race. It is not a superficial kind of joy, but the joy of knowing that something greater is coming and that we are benefiting from experiencing these difficult situations.
But then the apostle James says that the testing of our faith produces patience. Patience is such an important characteristic in the lives of God’s children. Without patience, we cannot truly grow spiritually. Without patience, we also cannot have good relationships with others when they offend us or cause us difficulties. Without patience, we ourselves would give up the Christian race far too quickly when things do not turn out as we want. Without patience, a student facing a long academic or professional path would end an endeavor far too prematurely.
That is to say, patience is one of those qualities that is so important for all believers. The apostle James himself speaks a little more about patience later, in James chapter 5, verse 7, where he says: “Therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, patiently waiting until it receives the early and the late rain. You too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near.”
There we have one of the reasons why we must have patience in the Christian life. The Lord Jesus Christ said that He would return, but His coming has taken a long time. If we Christians grow impatient for the coming of Christ, we could very easily lose our faith. So one reason we must be patient is that, as the Bible says, the Lord is not slow in His coming; rather, He too is patient. He is patient with us, seeking to ensure that as many people as possible are converted and that the divine processes in history and in the world can be completed before Christ comes to bring all the processes of human history to an end.
And we do not know when that time will be, so we must be patient, knowing that God has His time for everything. While we await the coming of the Lord, we must work and do all we can here on Earth, and leave the coming of Jesus Christ in the hands of our sovereign God.
So the trials of life develop in us that all-important quality of patience, specifically in this case with regard to the Second Coming of the Lord. We should not grow impatient simply because the Lord is taking a long time to come again, but should wait patiently and let the Lord be sovereign in this matter. One reason why we must rejoice in trials, and in our next segment we will continue reflecting on this.