JAMES: A FAITH THAT WORKS
Patience in Suffering
Message by Dr. Christin Taylor- August 23, 2026
James 5:7–12(NIV) “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”
“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Otherwise you will be condemned.”
Patience in suffering isn’t passive — it’s how we bear witness to God at work.
Context: The World of James
- Written to Jewish believers scattered by fierce persecution
- Follows Acts 7 — the stoning of Stephen, the church’s first martyr
- “A great persecution broke out” — believers scattered to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch
“Marginalized or deprived of the civil, social, and political rights of the cities or regions where they lived.” – Elsa Tamez, biblical scholar
Four Ways to Live Through Suffering
1. Wait Like the Farmer
2. Don’t Lash Out at One Another
- pain rarely stays contained — it spills onto those around us.
- The only one big enough to hold our pain is God.
“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James 5: 11
A Prayer Practice
Hold your pain before Jesus and pray, “Here it is. Now what?”
3. Borrow Courage from Those Before
- Christian history is full of those whose witness lights the way for us.
- St. John of the Cross: the darkness “cleanses the soul and purifies it form all these imperfections.”
Recommended Readings
- Lamentations & Psalms
- Gifts of the Dark Wood by Eric Elnes
- No cure for Being Human by Kate Bowler
- A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
- Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor
4. Don’t Sign God’s Name
- God already holds the future. A simple “yes” trusts Him.
- Our hope isn’t wishful thinking; our hope is a person.
“All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” James 5:12
I may not know
What a day may bring
But I know
Who brings the day
On the darkest night
When I cannot see
Still my soul will say
I may not know
What a day may bring
But I know
Who brings the day
“Miracle Power” – We The Kingdom
Because Jesus entered suffering, there is now no suffering left where He cannot be found.
Grief. Disappointment. Exhaustion. Brokenness. Loneliness.
God is there.
A Promise To Carry
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Psalm 23
“The promise of Christianity and following Jesus has never been that we will never walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
It is because of Jesus, we don’t walk alone.”
You can listen to the sermon on YouTube here.
Christin Taylor grew up a missionary kid living overseas. When she was 14, her parents retired from the mission field and moved to Central Indiana, where she went to Indiana Wesleyan University and met her Canadian husband, Dwayne. They immigrated to Ontario in 2015 with their two kids, Noelle and Nathan, and have lived here happily ever after. She has her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature and runs the Writing Centre at Laurier University. She and Dwayne have been at Westheights for the past two years and are grateful for this community.
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