Wait, Brace, Let it Go - Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr.

In a world that demands everything instantly, we're confronted with one of faith's most challenging requirements: patience. Drawing from James chapter 5, this message takes us into the heart of what it means to wait faithfully in uncertain times. The early believers James addressed were living through political chaos, economic instability, and literal persecution for their faith—circumstances that mirror our own feelings of uncertainty today. Yet James doesn't offer them a quick fix or promise immediate relief. Instead, he provides a framework for holy patience that transforms waiting from passive frustration into active faith. Through the metaphor of the farmer who plants seeds and tends the soil while trusting the seasons, we discover that biblical patience isn't about sitting idly by. It's about watching how others navigate their trials, working purposefully to cultivate our spiritual lives, and worshiping God even when answers seem delayed. The prophets who suffered and waited—Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah—become our guides, showing us that faithfulness isn't measured by immediate results but by persistent trust. This isn't just about waiting for God to move; it's about who we're becoming while we wait. Are we developing spiritual disciplines? Are we treating others with grace despite our own pain? Are we preparing for the harvest we believe is coming? The judge stands at the door, and our waiting has purpose.

The Sacred Art of Waiting: Finding Purpose in the In-Between

We live in a world that despises waiting. Fast food lines feel unbearable if they stretch beyond five minutes. Internet videos that buffer are immediately abandoned. Same-day delivery has become the expectation rather than the luxury. We've been trained by technology and culture to expect everything instantly—or faster.

Yet the book of James calls us to something radically countercultural: patience.

Waiting in Chaos

The original audience of James's letter lived in tumultuous times. The first-century Roman Empire was marked by violence, economic instability, and political upheaval. Leaders rose and fell with alarming frequency. Christians never knew whether they would be tolerated or persecuted, welcomed or expelled from their cities. Food shortages plagued families. Insurrections erupted in the streets.

Sound familiar?

These believers were trying to raise children, build their faith, and hold onto hope while the news cycle brought nothing but chaos. They were waiting—waiting for justice, waiting for relief, waiting for Jesus to return as He promised. And as the years passed and circumstances worsened, they kept asking: "How much longer?"

Waiting is hard. It tests us. It reveals what's truly in our hearts. When we're forced to wait, we can become discouraged, bitter, and impatient—not just with God, but with each other. The early Christians began grumbling against one another, taking their frustrations out on their brothers and sisters in Christ.

We do the same. When we're waiting on God for breakthrough, healing, or answers, we become irritable and snap at those around us—our spouse, children, coworkers, church family. Misery loves company, after all.

But James says no. That's not how we wait.

Three Pillars of Holy Waiting

If we're going to wait—and we will—how do we wait faithfully? How do we wait in a way that honors God and honors each other? The text reveals three essential practices: watch, work, and worship.

Watch: Learn from Others

Being patient doesn't mean passively sitting idle, twiddling our thumbs in life's waiting room. Holy patience is active and observant. We're called to pay attention—to watch how others navigate their waiting seasons.

Watch the people who wait with grace, dignity, and hope. Notice how they maintain joy even when answers are delayed. Observe how they treat others with kindness while they themselves are hurting. Learn from those who keep showing up, keep believing, keep trusting God.

Also watch those who wait poorly. Notice what happens when bitterness takes root, when people lose patience with God and each other, when grumbling and complaining tear communities apart. Learn from that too.

We don't wait in isolation. We wait in community, which means we have the opportunity to encourage one another, learn from one another, and strengthen one another. As one theologian noted, we cannot be Christians outside of community. Love God. Love people. Be patient with one another.

Work: Purposeful Preparation

James offers a powerful illustration: "See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains."

Farmers understand waiting. They plant seeds but cannot make them grow faster. They cannot control the seasons or command the rain. But here's the key: while farmers wait, they work.

After planting, farmers don't sit on the porch until harvest. They repair equipment, check crops for pests, maintain their accounting, and plan for the next season. The work is purposeful. It's preparation. It's an expression of faith in the coming harvest.

God has given us work to do while we wait. We cannot make ourselves grow spiritually any more than a farmer can make seeds grow. But we can cultivate the soil. We can water the ground. We can remove the weeds. We can create conditions for growth.

What does that look like practically? Reading Scripture. Spending time in prayer. Serving one another. Building our faith. Developing our character. Using our gifts. If we're praying for financial breakthrough, perhaps we take financial literacy classes. If we're praying for healing, maybe we also make healthier choices. If we're praying for a life partner, perhaps we work through our own issues in therapy.

Real faith works while it waits. A farmer who truly believes in the harvest doesn't neglect the farm during the waiting season. They tend to it. They prepare for what's coming. The work itself is an expression of faith.

Worship: Trust Beyond Circumstances

James points to the prophets as examples of patience in suffering. Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern. Daniel faced the lions' den. Elijah ran for his life. Isaiah prophesied to deaf ears. John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed.

The prophets suffered. They waited. Many never saw the fulfillment of God's promises in their lifetimes. But they remained faithful. They kept speaking. They kept believing. They kept worshiping.

Worship isn't just Sunday morning songs and raised hands. Worship is a lifestyle. It's trusting God when we can't see the outcome. It's declaring His goodness when circumstances say otherwise. It's holding onto faith when the wait feels impossibly long.

The prophets worshiped through their waiting. They looked to God rather than their circumstances. They anchored their hope in His promises rather than their present reality.

We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us—the matriarchs and patriarchs who prayed, served, and sacrificed on far less than we have now. They built universities, hospitals, and institutions when they barely had two pennies to rub together. If God was faithful to them in their suffering and waiting, He can surely help us too.

Already and Not Yet

We live in an in-between time. Jesus has already won the victory over sin and death. The kingdom has already broken into the world. But it's not yet fully realized. We are "already and not yet."

James never promises the wait will be short or easy. He doesn't promise we won't suffer. But he does promise we won't wait alone. We wait together. We encourage each other. We strengthen each other's hearts. We look to the example of those who have gone before us.

And most importantly, we trust in a God who has never failed us.

The Lord is waiting too—waiting with patience and mercy for people to come to repentance, waiting with compassion for us to grow and mature, waiting with a love that never fails.

So be patient. Stand firm. Strengthen your heart. Watch. Work. Worship.

Because the Lord is coming near. The judge is standing at the door. And when we learn to wait with holy patience, we discover that the waiting itself transforms us into the people God is calling us to be.