Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord; that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:9-11)
James wrote to Christians living through hard times, so he gave them a great reminder: "Do not grumble against one another." Times of hardship can cause us to be less than loving with our Christian brothers and sisters. James reminds us that we cannot become grumblers and complainers in our hardship - lest we be condemned even in our hardship.
To show what a serious matter this is, James reminded us: " Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!" Jesus comes as a Judge, not only to judge the world but also to assess the faithfulness of Christians (2 Corinthians 5:10). In light of this, we cannot allow hardship to make us unloving towards each other.
As an example, James wrote: "Take the prophets . . . as an example of suffering and patience." James reminds us that the prophets of the Old Testament endured hardship, yet practiced patient endurance. We can take them as examples.
Among these prophets, Jeremiah is one example of someone who endured mistreatment with patience. He was put in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:2), thrown into prison (Jeremiah 32:2), and lowered into miry dungeon (Jeremiah 28:6), yet he persisted in his ministry.
Then James reminded us of another specific example: "You have heard of the perseverance of Job." James tells us three things about Job and why he is a significant example for the suffering Christian.
First, we see the perseverance of Job. Passages such as Job 1:20-22 show us the tremendous perseverance of this afflicted man, who refused to curse God despite his severe and mysterious suffering.
We also see the end intended by the Lord, speaking of the ultimate goal and purpose of God in allowing the suffering to come upon Job. Perhaps the greatest end intended by the Lord was to use Job as a lesson to angelic beings, even as God promises to use the church (Ephesians 3:10-11).
God's good purpose in such difficult times makes all the difference. If a man were to attack me with a knife I would resist him with all my strength, and count it a tragedy if he succeeded. Yet if a surgeon comes to me with a knife, I welcome both him and the knife; let him cut me open, even wider than the knife-attacker, because I know his purpose is reasonable and necessary.
We see further that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. This is not immediately apparent in the story of Job; we can quickly think that God was cruel to Job. Yet upon consideration, we can see that God was indeed very compassionate and merciful.
- God was very compassionate and merciful to Job because He only allowed suffering for a very good reason.- God was very compassionate and merciful to Job because He restricted what Satan could do against Job.- God was very compassionate and merciful to Job because He sustained Him with His unseen hand through all his suffering.- God was very compassionate and merciful to Job at the end of it all, God had accomplished something wonderful: To make Job a better and more blessed man than ever. Remember that as good as Job was at the beginning of the book, he was a better man at the end of it. He was better in character, humbler, and more blessed than before.
In all this, we see a wonderful example of the kind of patient endurance that God works in His people. Invite Him to work it in you and through you.
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