James 1:4 EHV
“And let patient endurance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
The call to live by faith echoes throughout the Scriptures. For it is the one sure way spiritual blessings translate into physical manifestations, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, God is Spirit (Joh 4:24). Thus, the only way physical mankind can relate with a Spirit God is, by faith. No wonder, the Scripture says, “…without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him” (Heb 11:6 AMP). Hallelujah! That kind of response was evident in the lives of the saints of old.
The Lord Jesus also remarkably engaged His faith in God on several occasions. In almost all the instances faith worked great things in or through God’s people, patience was the ‘silent’ companion. Said plainly, true faith in God is evidenced by the patience of hope, i.e., the kind of patience that refuses to see giving up as an option! That is what Abraham, the father of faith, walked in. The Scripture says, “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise” (Heb 6:15 NKJV). Hallelujah! True patience, firmly rooted in God’s Word, is a strength—not a weakness, as the devil is deceiving many into believing
In Psalm 30:5, David shares what reflects brightly as faith and patience at work. He said, God’s “…favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (NLT). Certainly, to believe that “joy” will come when you are still in a state of “weeping”, takes faith. Also, Scripturally speaking, to pass from the “night” hours of weeping to the “morning” moments of joy, takes patience. Blessedly, regardless of whether it is night or morning, weeping or joy, God’s “favor lasts a lifetime!”, says the Scriptures. All that points to what our text of reference is driving home: “…let patient endurance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel