As we look at James, we are reminded that our central message is that Advent is a season defined by waiting, drawing a parallel between the centuries-long wait of the Israelites for the Messiah and our own modern aversion to delayed gratification, often illustrated through our shared impatience with technology like elevators and microwaves. We argue that this cultural instant gratification makes the scriptural call to “be patient” even more vital, and we conclude that waiting is a necessary act of Christian discipline and spiritual growth that forces us to relinquish control and trust in God’s timing and ultimate resolution of our challenges.

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Well, good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Tuesday morning, as we are coming to you from the frigid tundra of Mississippi. It is so cold! I’m just not made for this. I’m not made for the cold weather—it’s just not for me.

It’s like the old Lewis Grizzard line; he said one day, “Say what you want about the South, but nobody retires and moves up North.” It’s just too cold! A friend of mine told me the other day, “I believe if the temperature is lower than my age, I’m not leaving my house,” and that’s kind of how I feel.

Another meme I like says, “Some people suffer quietly. Not me. I’m going to complain. You’re going to know about it.” I’m cold, and I’m going to complain, because I’m just not made for this. (My wife is, I’m not!)

Anyway, it’s funny; we are in James 5 today. We’re going to read James 5:7 and 8 today. Tomorrow is 9 and 10, and tomorrow’s passage talks about grumbling. So maybe I should read tomorrow’s reading and meditate upon it, so that I’ll stop complaining about how cold I am!

Let’s read James chapter 5, verses 7 and 8 this morning:

“Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains. You also must be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

The Impatience of Our Age

We see in Advent, especially, a repeated theme about patience. Patience is a constant theme in the season of Advent.

Think about the people of Israel. They had been waiting for the Messiah for hundreds of years. There had been thousands of years since God’s call of Abraham to the birth of Jesus. The time between the last of the Old Testament prophets and the birth of Jesus was 400 years. Think about that—400 years passed! That’s longer than the United States has been in existence. That’s how long the people had waited.

And we are an impatient generation. I know every generation is impatient; that’s why the Bible always talks about waiting—it’s a constant refrain in Scripture because people by nature are impatient. We don’t like to wait; we grow tired of waiting. That’s just our human nature.

But I think our culture is maybe the worst, or at least it’s not good, because we live in an age of instant gratification. We don’t wait for anything. As we become more digital—with our phones, with short videos—our attention span is shrinking. Delayed gratification, they say, is a sign of maturity and adulthood. We live in a culture that doesn’t understand nor like delayed gratification.

That’s why I think the words of Advent are even more important to us now than they’ve ever been. We don’t like delayed gratification, and we don’t want to have to wait for what we want, because waiting implies things are beyond our control.

The Elevator and the Microwave

Think about it: How many of us at the elevator push the button again, even after we’ve already pushed it? Pushing the elevator button one more time is not going to make the elevator come faster! Yet, how many of us do that?

How many of us (raising my hand) sit and look at the microwave while it’s already cooking a meal very fast? In fact, when my wife is out of town and I’m eating my nutritious microwave dinners, I tend to eat quickly. I don’t even want to do it in the oven because the oven takes 20 minutes. I’m going to put it in the microwave for four minutes. Is that going to be as good? No. It’s going to be rubbery, and it’s not going to taste right. But I’ll still put it in the microwave because it’s faster. I don’t want to wait 20 minutes; I’d rather wait four.

And then, while I’m waiting the four minutes, I stand at the microwave and look at it, giving it a death stare, thinking that death stare will make it go faster. And it doesn’t.

We don’t want to wait, but think of all how often we have to wait:

• We wait for doctor’s appointments that aren’t for a few months.
• We wait when we are faced with a hurdle or an obstacle that we can’t fix.
• We wait for a resolution to work dynamics that we can’t change.
• We have to deal with challenges that are beyond our control.

We wait. Advent is a season of waiting.

Waiting is an Act of Discipline

While we wait, we know that God is doing something. We must be patient; we must learn to trust and have faith. “Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

As we’ve talked about in Advent, the coming of the Lord means yes, the Lord’s literal coming is near, but also the way the Lord will come and surprise us—He will change our resolve, address situations, or take care of things. The Lord’s coming is near. Be patient and trust.

Waiting quite often is where the Lord shows Himself. The people of Israel waited for hundreds of years for the birth of the Messiah. We wait 2,000 years later for His return. A lot of kids today are waiting for Christmas. You may be waiting for something in your family life or in your own personal life.

So we wait. Do not grow weary, and keep in mind the thing that you’re waiting for. As the farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient until it receives the early and late rains, you must also be patient.

What did Paul say? We do not grieve with those who have no hope. We also do not wait as those who have no hope.One day the season will be over. One day you will hear the results from the doctor. One day the situation at work will resolve itself. One day the family dynamic will change. One day the situation will be resolved.

Keep in mind what you’re waiting on. Keep in mind the results you’re looking for. Keep in mind what God may yet do in your waiting. Be patient.

I like to think of waiting (as somebody who doesn’t like to wait) as an act of Christian discipline and an act of Christian growth, because when we wait, we give up control. We give up our power, our ability to change. We have to just sit and wait and trust.

Remember the prophet Isaiah: “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.” Even youths faint, but those who wait upon the Lord will run and not grow weary.

So today, do not grow weary. Wait. Be patient. Know that God is in the waiting and God is in the work, and that God will show Himself at the appropriate time. Trust in what God is doing.

Tomorrow, in our devotional reading, we’re going to finish this little section in James. We’ll read James 9 through 10, so I would encourage you to read ahead to get ready for tomorrow’s reading.

Thank you for being with us! Have a great day.