Call of the Wild: a Journey Through the Book of JamesSample

Five More Minutes

The phrase “Five more minutes!” is common today.

“I’m on my way. Give me five more minutes.”

“These cookies aren’t quite done. Let’s wait five more minutes.”

It’s a call to pause. In today’s passage, James dives into the idea of patience. Patience is a serenity in the midst of life’s inevitable difficulties.

It’s also a characteristic of God. If the goal of the Christian life is to look more like God every day, that means we must pursue patience. The trouble is, patience isn’t born, it’s built.

One way to become patient is to think like a farmer. A farmer knows that there are seasons. Growth doesn’t happen every day and challenges don’t last forever. Farmers are patient because they know waiting is not wasting.

This principle especially applies to relationships. It’s easy for us to fantasize about what it would be like if we were dating, married, or maybe single. But we should seek contentment and closeness to God in whatever season we’re in.

Secondly, he tells us to think like a family. As you strive towards patience, know that those around you are on the same journey. Whether it be your kids, your spouse, or even complete strangers, it’s important to be patient with others while they’re on their way to becoming more patient.

Thirdly, he wants us to have patience like we know the future. When we die we will stand before God. On that day, we want to say, “I did the best I could with what I was given.” This is nice in theory, but can be tricky in reality because we don’t always appreciate what we’ve been given. It’s hard to give our best because we often become jealous of those around us.

The story of Joseph reminds us that it’s our choice to view what we’ve been given appropriately and use it accordingly. Joseph was mocked, enslaved, sold, betrayed, jailed, and all along he was faithful with what he was given.

Lastly, we need to have patience like our forefathers. The reason why we remember people like Job isn’t because their lives were easy, but because of the intense difficulty they overcame. Let us aspire to that resolve. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”