HAVE THE PATIENCE OF A FARMER
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
James 5:7-8 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
My wife loves Honeycrisp apples. They are a staple around our house. (I prefer mine with some peanut butter or almond butter on them.) I have never cut an apple and paused to reflect on the hard work A farmer put into providing that apple for my eating pleasure.
Somewhere there was a farmer that planted the seed and waited for an apple tree to grow. Then the farmer had to be patient until the tree matured enough to produce apples. Every year the farmer waits for the apple trees to bud and blossom and begin to grow fruit. The farmer can’t make the apple grow, he just watches and observes to see when the apple is ready to pick.
James reminds us we need to have the patience of the farmer. We need to be willing to wait for God’s timing in our lives.
I remember waiting for our sons to be born. The nine months seemed like forever—I’m sure it seemed a lot longer to Cindy than to me. Looking back over the 35 years of their lives that nine months doesn’t seem so long. It is an ancient memory that now has lots of precious memories of family trips, soccer games, basketball games, football games, graduations, weddings, and the birth of four grandchildren.
Whatever we go through today will be an ancient memory someday. What seems almost impossible to endure today will be a great story tomorrow. We must learn patience in whatever we are going through.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to have a bigger perspective of my present circumstances. Help me to develop the patience I need to see Your plans fulfilled in my life.
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