“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7).

The book of James is one of those books of the Bible that as soon as I turn to a passage I know I am going to be challenged and blessed. It’s not that other books are less inspired. It is just that James is so practical and yet so pointed. James puts it right  where we believers are living today. We need to ask the Lord to help us to be much more longsuffering with people. The telemarketer that calls just as you begin to eat supper; the person who pulls out in front of you on the highway when there is no one behind you; or the person who comes to your door to convince you to lower your gas prices by signing up with them today. All of these and many more are people I do not have to endorse. But I will need the Lord to keep me patient. What will help me? The answer is in the rest of the verse, “the coming of the Lord.” What a blessed event for me to focus upon. This brings everything into the right perspective.

For today: While I am not going to ask the Lord to give me patience, I am going to ask Him to help me not to be so quick to respond and so easily perturbed with people. Even the annoying ones!