This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
James 5:8
8 Be [makrothumeo] ye [humeis] also [kai] patient [makrothumeo]; stablish [sterizo] your [humon] hearts [kardia]: for [hoti] the coming [parousia] of the Lord [kurios] draweth nigh [eggizo]. KJV-Interlinear
8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. NASB
So, the world is unstable, people are not nice to you, the bills just keep coming, there are so many differing opinions that your head would spin off if you tried to keep up with them all.
We work hard to keep up and try as we may to have a decent life, but there will always be those who take short cuts, those who will cheat us, those who will take advantage, and even if we are so lucky to have good fortune in life, anything of this world is not really an advantage anyway.
Do we take on the world and chase after this thing and that? Do we get even? Do we try to convince others of our ‘better’ ideas and ignore the frustration if people don’t listen to us? Do we join the bandwagons, the crusades, the causes that are always around?
And the Bible says no to all of this.
Your first concern is that the Lord is coming and coming soon. When soon? Well in human history He may not schedule the Rapture for another century, but for your personal life, He may call you home tonight or tomorrow, or perhaps a decade from now.
The Lord is coming and history is cruising toward its final scene. For centuries people have known this fact and they are no longer in this world.
Your first concern should be your spiritual life, because of the very fact that Christ is going to call you home one day. Whether you live to see the Rapture and the close of our dispensation is not relevant. What is relevant is your personal spiritual life and whether or not you will be fully prepared when your number is called.
Do not let the world worry you regarding wars, or economic downturns. Do not let the world’s problems, and it has a lot of them, worry you as to whether the climate will make us all desert residents, or swamp residents. Do not fret over the bills, or who is running for whatever office, or who has cheated you. So what!
The Bible states clearly, ‘Stop worrying about anything, but in everything through prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God. The peace of God (doctrine in the soul) will garrison your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus. For of Him, and to Him, and through Him, are all things.’
Jesus Christ controls history. In doctrine, the world may try to hammer your life, but you have someone within you, Christ, who is greater than this world, and nothing can take you out of His protective hands.
So, be patient, study your Bible everyday, grow up spiritually, live your life in fellowship, and wait on the Lord. All things will come to those (mature believers) who wait (on the Lord). The Lord does not depend on the methods and tools of man, the Lord works His will without regard to human means.
The battle is the Lords.
