April 6 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 96—James 5:7–12

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ¹² But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Devotional:

Our glorious hope is that our Lord Jesus Christ is returning in power and in glory.

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord … the coming of the Lord is at hand" (vv. 7–8). The return of Christ is the finish line for your patient endurance. After he comes again to receive you to himself, then you won't have to wait any longer. From then on, you will enjoy the full reality of your salvation. There will be nothing left to wait for!

God's Word frequently points our hope to the coming of the Lord. There are over 300 references to it in the New Testament. That's about one in every 13 verses.

So, James didn't need to go into a lot of detail. He especially honed in on our Lord's teaching that we must be watchful and prepared. Jesus told a parable of ten virgins—five had oil in their lamps and were ready for the bridegroom's appearing; five had no oil in their lamps and were not ready and so were shut out.

This does not mean that we should speculate about the timing of our Lord's return. In fact, James put his finger on the main Scriptural emphases concerning the coming of the Lord. First, his return is at hand. It has been so since the days of the apostles. The return of Christ was then at hand. It is now at hand. We live in the last days, the days of his imminent return. He can return at any time. Second, the pressure of that return upon us is not to promote curiosity and speculation as to the date and circumstances. It is to promote a life of holiness and fruitfulness, so that we may be ready to meet the Lord.

Our Lord Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. "Behold, the Judge is standing at the door" (v. 9). At that point, he will settle all accounts and set all things straight. If you are resting in Jesus as your Savior—if you have oil in your lamp—then at that point he will openly vindicate you as perfectly righteous in his sight, and as one of his redeemed children.

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.