The Joy of Patience
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | December 14, 2025
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Read James 5:7 – 10 (NIV)
Today we celebrate the third Sunday in Advent, when we are encouraged to focus on the theme of JOY.
Now, I must admit, as I looked at the suggested scriptures from the Lectionary for this week, I was not sure what direction I should take.
One of the texts for today was Mary’s Song... also known as the Magnificat... found in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The selected verses highlight Mary’s response when she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth... after the Angel Gabriel had told Mary that she was going to give birth to a son and that her barren older cousin, Elizabeth, was miraculously with child herself... that could certainly be a story that fits with the theme of joy... but I did not go with that one.
Now, another one of the recommended texts for today was Matthew 11 and the story of John the Baptist sending word to Jesus... asking if He was the one to come or if they should be waiting for someone else who would be the Messiah. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus sent word back to John to tell him of the miracles that had been performed... those who were blind could see... those who were crippled could walk... those who had skin diseases had been cleansed... those who were deaf could hear... and not to mention there were the dead who had been raised to life again.
Then the rest of that passage from Matthew goes on to describe how Jesus spoke to the crowds in glowing terms about John the Baptist... describing him as being more than a prophet... making no mention of John’s questions about Jesus truly being the Messiah... subtly nodding to the fact that having questions or points of uncertainty is not a disqualifier for doing kingdom work... again, a story that could be molded to fit the theme of joy... but I didn’t go with that one either.
Then I came to the passage that I selected from the Lectionary... or perhaps I should say the passage that selected me... which comes from the Book of James.
In the New International as well as the Revised Standard Versions of the Bible, this text comes under the heading “Patience in Suffering” ...and in the Common English Bible, the heading reads, “Courageous Patience.”
In the New King James Version, the heading appears as “Be Patient and Persevering” ...while in the Contemporary English Version, the heading is simply, “Be Patient and Kind.”
To be perfectly honest, nowhere in the text or the headings is there any mention made to the concept of joy... however, for our time together this morning, on this third Sunday of Advent, I want to invite us to focus on the subject: THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
Have you ever given any thought to how much of our lives involves waiting?
When we’re young we can’t wait to go to school... then once we get there we can’t wait until we’re out of school.
When we learn how to ride a bike, we can’t wait to get the training wheels off... but then we can’t wait to stop riding a bike so we can learn how to drive.
As we begin to mature, we can’t wait to get a real job earning real money... however, once we start working... we can’t wait until the day comes when we can finally retire.
When we have children, we can’t wait until they start walking and talking... and then we can’t wait for them to get older so they can go off on their own somewhere and we can have some peace and quiet.
Then we can’t wait for them to move out on their own and get married and start families of their own... but then we can’t wait for them to come back for a visit... but when they do come back... we often can’t wait for them to go back to their own homes so we can have our empty nest to ourselves again.
It seems that no matter what we just can’t wait to happen... once we get it... whatever “it” may be... we find ourselves in a position when we can’t wait for something else to come along.
Could it be that the things we often find ourselves thinking that we can’t wait to happen are simply not worth the wait?
Oftentimes in our seasons of waiting, we glamorize whatever it is that we are waiting for, so much so, that... if and when it finally does happen, the reality is almost never fully able to live up to our expectations.
But let me suggest that when we wait patiently on the Lord... the blessings we receive are absolutely worth the wait...
And this brings us to our text for the morning... and a few simple lessons we can learn about THE JOY OF PATIENCE that can be ours even in those waiting seasons.
The first verse of our text, verse 7 says, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.”
So, lesson one: it takes time for good things to be cultivated.
We can’t expect to reap the harvest as soon as we have planted the seed... we have to wait for that seed to grow and the plant to mature... from the time of the early rain when the seeds are first planted until the late rain when it is time for the harvest... we, like the farmer, must be patient and wait.
Then prayerfully when the time comes... we will reap an abundance of blessings that reflect THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
During the season of Advent... we are encouraged to wait in the same way... with a sense of great expectation as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. And even as we reflect on the birth of Christ... we are reminded that it is the precursor to His death, burial and resurrection.
Because the fact of the matter is that the real reason Jesus came to earth as that little baby was to set the stage that would lead to Him giving His life for us.
And as we think about all of what that means... we cannot help but find ourselves eagerly anticipating the day when Jesus will come back for His bride, the Church. We can’t wait until Jesus comes back to fix all of this...
But as the text reminds us... we shift from the early rain to the late rain as the seasons change in their own time... in other words it takes time for good things to be cultivated... in our season of waiting... it takes time for THE JOY OF PATIENCE to come to fruition.
Now verse 8 of our text says, “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
Which brings us to lesson two: there is a purpose for our waiting.
Like that farmer waiting to reap what he has planted in the fields... we must wait for the Lord to return... and James encourages us that in our waiting for the Lord, we must be patient... even as that farmer is patient.
He writes, “…be patient and stand firm…”
We stand firm... patiently waiting for the time when Jesus will come for the harvest of souls that have been established, nurtured and fed by the Word of God... souls that have been planted like seeds through the sharing of the Good News about Jesus.
Because just as the farmer must constantly tend to his fields... weeding them and watering them... guarding them from the attacks of pests and animals... we, too, must tend to and protect the garden of souls who are eagerly waiting for the Lord to return.
We must not only take care of them; however... we must take care of ourselves as well... making sure that we are being nourished by frequent feedings of God’s Word... establishing our hearts by being rooted and grounded in the Word of God... tending to our own spiritual wellbeing.
In our season of waiting for the Savior to return... this time of anticipation and expectation... we must not lose sight of the fact that there is a purpose for our waiting. There are still people who need us to tell them about Jesus... but there are even more people who need us to show them about Jesus by our actions.
We spread the Good News about Jesus not just by talking about Him... but by doing what Jesus would do... loving our neighbor... being kind and compassionate to one another... putting the needs of others before our own.
The world is a vast, wide-open, field... ripe for cultivation... but it’s up to us to tend to the field while we wait... because that is when we will see the fruits of our labor and experience THE JOY OF PATIENCE that comes as we bear witness to the harvest of souls that is happening while we are in that waiting season.
So, lesson one: it takes time for good things to be cultivated.
And lesson two: there is a purpose for our waiting.
Now verse 9 of the text says, “Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”
Which brings us to lesson three: we must give as good as we get.
Now traditionally, that saying, “give as good as you get,” has been meant as an “eye for an eye” type of response to someone who has wronged us or caused us harm. It has been a way of suggesting that there ought to be a “reciprocity of retribution” when it comes to how we deal with others.
But let me suggest, that from a biblical perspective, giving as good as we get means forgiving as we have been forgiven... just look at Matthew 6:12, Luke 11:4, Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32.
It also means loving as we have been loved... for example, see John 13:34; John 15:13 and 1 John 4:11. And it also means not judging, lest we be judged ourselves as explained in Matthew 7:1 and Luke 6:37.
Yet so often we want to sit in seats of righteous indignation... mumbling and grumbling against what we perceive to be the wrong acts of others. But if we were to hold a mirror up to our own actions... perhaps we might not be so quick to point an accusatory finger at others.
It is like you have probably heard before, “When you point a finger at someone else, there are actually three fingers pointing back at you.”
So, perhaps we can take our cue from the text and shift our thoughts from a tit-for-tat mentality in a reactionary response...
And instead focus on blessing others as we have been blessed... paying forward, so to speak, what has been given to us... reaping the benefits of THE JOY OF PATIENCE that we can in turn share with someone else.
So, lesson one: it takes time for good things to be cultivated.
Lesson two: there is a purpose for our waiting.
And lesson three: we must give as good as we get.
Which brings us to the last verse of our text, verse 10, “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” ...and lesson four: what God has done for others, He can do for you.
You may recall that I mentioned that our New Testament lesson comes under the heading, “Patience in Suffering,” in both the New International and Revised Standard Versions of the Bible.
Now I will be the first one to admit that I am not always quick to be patient when I am suffering.
Several years ago, after my trip to Norway, I found myself dealing with a health issue... and there were some nights that I felt like I was “suffering” as I dealt with symptoms that would sometimes keep me awake until the early morning hours. The physical exhaustion led to emotional exhaustion and let me just say, things went quickly downhill from there.
But even in those moments, I would be reminded that I was not the first, nor would I be the last person, to “suffer” from some particular ailment or another... and in the grand scheme of things... what I was dealing with would be considered mild in comparison to what others were going through.
And that brought the realization that if God has brought others through their suffering... He would bring me through as well... and I stand here today, grateful that God did bring me through.
Now, during that particularly difficult time in my life... I found myself reflecting on what the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians:
...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (1 Cor. 12:7b – 9).I was also reminded of Job, who endured intense suffering... losing his family and possessions... as well as his health... yet, even in all of that, Job was still able to say, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).
But most of all, that period when I was faced with my own pain and suffering... reminded me of our Lord, Jesus, and what the writer of Hebrews wrote.
Reading from the Message Paraphrase we find these words
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:1 – 3).In other words, Jesus knew that finishing the race would be worth the wait... it would be worth pressing on, whatever happened along the way... it would be worth whatever suffering He had to endure. He, more than anyone, understood what it meant to have THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
And as we press on, we will find that it will be well worth the wait when we see Jesus at the finish line... cheering us on to complete the race... so that we, too, can experience THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
Now in the NIV, that 2nd verse of Hebrews 12 actually reads, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
For the joy set before Him… THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
Jesus knew that victory was a sure thing... that is why He could have joy... no matter what the circumstances looked like... no matter how much suffering He had to endure.
James tells us back in 1:2, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…”
Perhaps it does not seem possible to consider our trials to be a time of joy... but it is often during these challenging times that we can see and feel God at work in our lives with greater clarity and certainty... and that is when we can truly experience THE JOY OF PATIENCE.
As we continue to read stories in the scriptures... and as we hear the testimonies of those who are still living among us... we can have faith that what God has done for others, He can and will do for us as well.
It’s like a “singing cowboy,” named Stuart Hamblen once wrote:
It is no secret what God can do. What he's done for others he'll do for you. With arms wide open he'll pardon you, it is no secret what God can do.
So, just a quick recap of the lessons we can take from this passage in the Book James that can ultimately result in us finding THE JOY OF PATIENCE... in this season of waiting... during this season of Advent.
Lesson one: it takes time for good things to be cultivated.
Lesson two: there is a purpose for our waiting.
Lesson three: we must give as good as we get.
And lesson four: what God has done for others, He can do for you.
Simple lessons that I pray will serve us well in this season of anticipation and expectation... in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ... and more importantly as we are preparing for the return of Christ.
And if your desire is to feel THE JOY OF PATIENCE in this season of waiting for Jesus to return... then I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Joy to the World #143 Back
