James: Faith in ActionНамуна

Patient Faith

Patience never comes easily. We want things to just happen! Whether it's watching the clock tick down until the end of school, or starting to feel better when you've been sick, or looking forward to a present you'll get on your birthday, we always want things now rather than waiting for them until later.

When life is hard, we want to move past it quickly too. We hope that the bad stuff will be over soon so things can be good again. This is a good and normal way to think, and you'll see tomorrow that it's great to pray to God for help during these times.

Still, sometimes things don't get better for a long time. We might have to show patience and persevere through some really tough stuff in life, even when it seems like there's no end in sight. James tells us that the most important thing when we're suffering is to keep holding on to God. In other words, God wants us to not give up on Him even when times are tough. We can be sad, cry out to Him and ask for help—and we should! The important thing is to never stop trusting Him.

Questions:

1. Check out verse 8. What do we have to look forward to, even when times are tough?
2. What does verse 11 tell us about what God is like? How can that be a comfort when you pray to Him?
3. Do you know someone else going through a hard time? How could you pray for them? Give that a go now.

Prayer:

Loving Heavenly Father, thank you that You're always there for me, even during the hard times. I pray that You'll give me a strong faith that will persevere so I always keep trusting in You. Amen.