Live Faithfully - Week Eleven

While you wait

James 5:7-12

Highlights from this week:

• no matter what situation God places you in, one thing you must never do is complain
• complaining Christians are a bad witness
• patience is the ability to endure pain, difficulties, and hardships without complaining or losing heart
• establish means to strengthen, cause to stand, or prop up
• patience is not just passive, it's also active
• the tongue only speaks what is in the heart
• grumble means to bear a grudge; to mutter or mumble something in a low or hushed tone
• condemn means to declare to be wrong; to pronounce judgement; to convict
• grumbling is usually a sign of a deeper problem - discontentment with our lot in life
• a jealous person is hostile, suspicious, or envious of one believed to enjoy an advantage
• when God eavesdrops at your door, does He hear grumbling or glorifying?
• if you're in a season of suffering, patiently endure until the season of blessing
• we don't need to swear by any created thing to prove our sincerity; we prove it by acting with integrity
• people who keep their word don't have to make promises
• there's no such thing as a little white lie
• it's all right to say no to one thing so that you can say yes to a better thing
• a half truth is a whole lie

On day 4 we read about patience and suffering and are reminded of Job.  God meant for patience and suffering to go hand in hand.  We must persevere.  Persevere means to persist steadfastly despite counter influences, opposition or discouragement.  You cannot persevere unless you face difficulties just like you can't experience triumph without tragedy.  To receive the blessing, you must bear the burden.  HOW we do that is what counts to God.  If you look through the Bible at the prophets, you will see that they prove that we can be in the will of God and still suffer.  They show us that sometimes we suffer BECAUSE we are in the will of God.  But they also remind us that God cares for us when we suffer.